Basketball is a fast-paced, high-scoring game with a wide global appeal. According to TV viewing statistics, it’s the joint 9th most watched sport worldwide, with an estimated 400 million viewers. 

With such high-scoring games, ties at the end of regular time are relatively rare. However, regulations don’t allow basketball games to remain tied. 

If the teams are tied at the end of regular time, periods of overtime are played until there’s a clear winner.

Overtime adds an extra layer of excitement to basketball games, as both teams push hard to outscore their opponents during the added time. 

When betting on basketball, it’s good to know if your bet includes overtime. Somewhat annoyingly, the short answer to this is “it depends”! 

Bookmaker and exchange overtime rules differ widely, with no apparent logic behind these differences. Because of this, if you’re betting on basketball, it’s a good idea to know how overtime could affect your bets before placing them. 

This is especially important if you’re doing a Matched Betting offer involving basketball. You should always ensure the bookmaker's overtime rules for your bet match those at the exchange, to avoid potentially losing money on your bets. 

In this article, you’ll find out how overtime works, how often NBA games go to extra time, and the overtime rules for a wide range of bookmakers and betting exchanges. 

How Long is Regular Time in a Basketball Game?

The length of regular time (also called regulation time) in a basketball game depends on the organisation that oversees the game. 

Here’s a summary of how the different organisations divide up their basketball games. 

NBA

• Four 12-minute quarters
• 15-minute half-time break

Men’s College Games (including NCAA)

• Two 20-minute halves
• 15-minute half-time break
• The only basketball division that still plays halves, rather than quarters 

Women’s College Games (including NCAA)

• Four 10-minute quarters
• 15-minute half-time break

FIBA 

• Four 10-minute quarters
• 15-minute half-time break 

US High School Varsity Games 

• Mostly four 8-minute quarters, although this varies by state
• 10-minute half-time break

The allotted time for each period is actual playing time, with the clock being stopped while there’s no active play. 

This means that basketball games tend to take a lot longer than the stated regular time, typically around 2 hours, even if no overtime is played.

What Is Overtime in Basketball?

If the scores are level at the end of the 4th quarter (or the end of the 2nd half in men’s NCAA games), a period of overtime must be played to attempt to break the deadlock. Overtime is played with the same ‘5 versus 5’ format (five players per team) as regular time.

Overtime periods last 5 minutes, although high school basketball overtime periods are contested over 4 minutes. 

If the teams are still tied after the first overtime period, additional overtime periods of the same length are played until there’s a clear winner at the end of the extra period. 

What is the Longest NBA Game?

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest game in NBA history was a 1951 fixture between Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Olympians. 

Indianapolis Olympians won the match 75-73, but only after a record six periods of overtime were played. There were 78 playing minutes in total: 48 in regular time and 30 in overtime. 

Despite the very long game, the final score was relatively low compared to more modern games, where teams score around 115 points on average. 

How Often Do Basketball Games Go to Overtime?

According to several internet sources, including this one, about 6% of NBA games go to overtime, which is around 1 in 17.

NBA seasons involve each of the 30 teams playing 41 home games and 41 away games. 

An easy way to work out the total number of games played is to multiply the number of home games each team plays by the number of teams. This avoids counting games twice (once for the home team and once for the away team).

The overall number of games played by NBA teams during a season can then be easily worked out:

Total Number of Games in an NBA Season = 41 x 30 = 1230

If around 6% of these games go to overtime, this means that about 74 games per season will require periods of overtime, on average. 

Bookmaker Basketball Overtime Rules

There's very little consistency with bookmaker and exchange basketball overtime rules. However, there are a couple of general rules that are helpful to bear in mind. 

General Overtime Rules

If a market is offered for regular time and has a ‘draw’ option, overtime will not count. These are 3-Way markets, where you can bet on either team to win, or the draw. 

On the VBet screenshot below, you can see they have a 2-way ‘Match Winner’ market (often called ‘Moneyline’). Overtime counts with this market. 

Below this is a Match Result (Regular Time), where overtime does not count.

Almost all bookmakers, and all exchanges, include overtime with the 2-way match result / moneyline market. 

The only bookmaker listed in the section below that doesn’t include overtime in these 2-way match result markets, according to their bettings rules, is Kwiff. 

This means that if you’re Matched Betting, you can safely back and lay your basketball 2-way match result bets at any exchange, with any bookmaker other than Kwiff. 

The bookmakers and exchanges in the list below are split into two sections - those that include overtime in all markets apart from 3-Way markets, and those with more complicated overtime rules. 

The rules for prop bets (proposition bets) differ significantly between bookmakers, as you’ll see below. 

There are also major differences between bookmakers in the way they treat overtime in bets based on quarters or halves.

Bookmakers and Exchanges Where Overtime Counts for All Markets (Except 3-Way Markets, if Included)

N.B. Please bear in mind that the terms are subject to change, and you should always check to be sure of the latest rules. 

Bookmakers and Exchanges with More Complicated Overtime Rules

N.B. Please bear in mind that the terms are subject to change, and you should always check to be sure of the latest rules. 

Summary

Overtime is relatively rare in basketball, affecting only around 6% of NBA games. Even so, if you’re betting on the sport, it’s useful to know whether overtime is included with your bets. 

Matched Bettors need to ensure that the overtime rules on their bookmaker basketball bets match those at the exchange they’re using, to avoid potentially losing money on their bets. The good news is that the 2-way Match Winner / Moneyline market includes overtime for all betting exchanges, and all bookmakers, except for Kwiff.

Matched Betting allows you to lock in a profit on your bets, whether you’re betting on basketball or other sports, so you don’t have to leave your bets up to chance.

You can find out about a free Matched Betting trial at outplayed.com here.