Betting on college teams from Los Angeles, CA

Prominent College Teams in Los Angeles

UCLA, Southern California (USC), Pepperdine.

While Los Angeles boasts eight professional teams (tied for the most with New York), college sports also play a big part in the city’s sports fandom. UCLA and USC (University of Southern California) are great rivals in the Pac-12 Conference in all sports. UCLA is better known for a basketball program that has won 11 national titles, the most of any school in the country. The basketball program’s glory days are a thing of the past, but new head coach Mick Cronin will attempt to bring the Bruins back to national prominence. 

The football team, down for years, is trying to be revitalized by second-year head coach Chip Kelly, who did wonders at the University of Oregon a decade ago. UCLA’s baseball team was ranked No. 1 in the country most of the 2019 season before losing to Michigan in the Super Regional in a major upset. Southern Cal is more known for its success in football over the years, boasting five Heisman trophy winners, including O.J. Simpson and several No. 1 NFL Draft picks. Although the Trojans program is coming off a very down season in 2018 when it suffered a losing record at 5-7 — it’s first losing season 200 teams also went 5-7 — there is hope that the Trojans will rebound in 2019.

Pepperdine, located on the beach in beautiful Malibu, is a Division I basketball program that has achieved modest success over the years. Pepperdine does not have football. 

Betting on College Teams in Los Angeles

As of July 2019 betting on sports in Los Angeles or, for that matter, all of California is not legal. Given its size and amount of sports teams both college and professional, California is one of the most eagerly-anticipated sports betting markets in the United States. And with the recent Supreme Court decision that opened the door to regulated sports gambling, it’s only a matter of time until California passes sports betting legislation according to many hopeful observers.

Legal Betting in Los Angeles

Right now there are no licensed or regulated ways to bet on sports in California but residents are optimistic that will change soon. There are already plans for a public referendum on sports betting and a number of politicians have already demonstrated support for the idea.

Although technically not sports betting, it is legal to play daily fantasy sports on sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Citizens of Los Angeles can start betting online on fantasy basketball and football teams by signing up with Draftkings which offers a $5 welcome bonus for all new customers. Yes, if you live in Los Angeles you can also bet on horse races and two race tracks — Santa Anita and Los Alamitos are nearby. Twinspires Los Angeles has some good markets, in play odds and bonus options such as 

Best Sports Sites in Los Angeles

The biggest media outlet in the city is the Los Angeles Times (latimes.com), which devotes plenty of manpower and space to all of its teams and college sports. You could also go to the college websites uclabruins.com and usctrojans.com for all the information you need on those individual college sports teams.