Play Responsibly

We do not encourage gambling. Nothing on this site is a tip, a recommendation or a reason to place a bet. If you choose to bet, treat it as entertainment you pay for — never as a way to make money, and never as a way to win back money you have lost.

The Scoreboard Don’t Lie publishes scores, statistics, trackers, graphics and research tools for informational and entertainment purposes only. Where we display betting odds or player markets, we display them as published information, the same way we display a box score. Where we publish plays or other selections, they are one person’s opinion written for entertainment and discussion — not a recommendation to bet, and not a promise that anything will happen. We are not gambling advisers, handicappers or betting professionals, and we have no stake in whether you bet, where you bet or how any bet turns out.

• We are not a sportsbook. We do not accept, place, hold or pay out wagers, and nothing you enter here is a bet.
• We do not profit from your bets. We take no share of anything you wager, win or lose, and we are not paid by any sportsbook to send you to it.
• We do not predict outcomes. Every number here describes what has already happened. No statistic, trend, model, projection or graphic can tell you what will happen next, and no play is expected to win.
• We do not guarantee accuracy. We work hard to be right, but live data can be delayed or wrong, and odds shown here may differ from what a sportsbook is offering right now.
• We are not affiliated with any league, team, player or sportsbook.

A large share of our members use this site only to follow games. No feature requires a bet, and you lose nothing by never placing one. If you do choose to bet, you are making your own decision with your own money, and every outcome — good or bad — is yours alone.

You are also responsible for the law where you live. Sports betting is legal in some states and not in others, the legal age is 21 in most places that allow it and 18 in a few, and the rules change often. Before you bet, confirm that it is lawful for you, that you meet the age requirement, and that the operator you use is licensed to serve you. We cannot make that determination for you, and nothing on this site should be read as a statement that betting is legal where you are.

• Decide what you can afford to lose before you start, and treat that amount as the price of an evening out. Never bet money you need for rent, bills, food or family.
• Never chase a loss. Trying to win back what you have lost is how a bad night becomes a bad month. A loss is a sunk cost, not a debt the next bet can settle.
• Set deposit, spending and time limits at your sportsbook before you need them, while you are calm. Every licensed book offers them.
• Do not bet when you are upset, tired, or under the influence of alcohol or anything else that clouds judgment.
• Do not borrow to bet, and do not bet with credit.
• Take breaks. If following the games stops being enjoyable, step away — the games will still be there.
• Do not treat anything on this site, or anywhere else, as a sure thing. There is no such thing. Past results, hot streaks and “systems” do not change the next outcome.

• Betting more than you planned, or more than you can afford to lose
• Betting larger amounts to recover losses
• Hiding how much you bet from family or friends
• Feeling anxious, irritable or preoccupied when you are not betting
• Borrowing money, selling things or missing payments in order to bet
• Betting interfering with work, school, relationships or sleep
• Promising yourself you will stop, and not stopping

If any of these sound familiar — in yourself or in someone close to you — talking to a professional helps, and it is free and confidential. The resources below are a good place to start.

• Limits and time-outs at your sportsbook. Every licensed operator lets you cap deposits, losses and session time, and take a cooling-off break. Set them in the operator’s account settings.
• State self-exclusion. Most states with legal sports betting run a voluntary self-exclusion program that bars you from every licensed operator in the state for a period you choose. The national helpline above can tell you how to enroll where you live.
• Turn off odds and alerts here. You can switch off game alerts in your account settings and simply not open the odds and markets views; the rest of the site works the same without them.
• Close your account with us. You can delete your account at any time from your account settings, and we will honor a request to close it sent to the contact address in our Terms. We will not try to talk you out of it.
• Blocking software. Independent tools can block gambling sites and apps across all of your devices; the organizations below can point you to them.

Many states also run their own problem-gambling helplines and treatment programs; the national helpline can connect you to the one for your state. These organizations are independent of us, and we list them as a public service.

Our Terms of Service set out the age and eligibility rules, our disclaimers about accuracy and the terms on which you use the site, and our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information, including anything you enter in your own plays tracker.