Monthly Archives: January 2020

2020 World Series odds: Yankees lead board

The 2019-20 NFL season comes to an end on Sunday with Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Barely a week later, Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers start reporting to spring training camps in Florida and Arizona. The first exhibition games are February 22 and the regular season starts on Thursday, March 26 with all 30 teams in action on Opening Day for the first time in decades.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

How important is an MLB manager to his team’s success? The biggest news in MLB of late has been three managers being fired/stepping down in the Houston Astros’ A.J. Hinch, Boston Red Sox’s Alex Cora and New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran. All were involved in one form or another in the sign-stealing scandal with Houston and Boston that’s leaving a black eye on the sport. and probably isn’t over yet.

Oddsmakers only slightly punished those three teams in losing their managers even though Hinch led the Astros to a pair of World Series appearances over the past three seasons with one title, and Cora led Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and a championship in 2018. Beltran was a first-year manager with the Mets.

2020 World Series odds: Yankees lead board

The 2019-20 NFL season comes to an end on Sunday with Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Barely a week later, Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers start reporting to spring training camps in Florida and Arizona. The first exhibition games are February 22 and the regular season starts on Thursday, March 26 with all 30 teams in action on Opening Day for the first time in decades.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

How important is an MLB manager to his team’s success? The biggest news in MLB of late has been three managers being fired/stepping down in the Houston Astros’ A.J. Hinch, Boston Red Sox’s Alex Cora and New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran. All were involved in one form or another in the sign-stealing scandal with Houston and Boston that’s leaving a black eye on the sport. and probably isn’t over yet.

Oddsmakers only slightly punished those three teams in losing their managers even though Hinch led the Astros to a pair of World Series appearances over the past three seasons with one title, and Cora led Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and a championship in 2018. Beltran was a first-year manager with the Mets.

Super Bowl LIV to set new record for sports wagers

For Super Bowl LIII, around $325 million was wagered legally in the U.S.. According to many accounts, over $6 billion in bets were seen between the legal and the illegal markets, although it’s difficult to know exactly how much would have been bet illegally. With more states now offering legalized sports gambling, the gambling industry is prepared to see gamblers begin to switch toward legal bets, and the hopes are that the legal industry will pick up at least $400 million, according to PlayUSA.com. A good prop bet for the upcoming NFL Championship would be an Over/Under on $400 million in legal wagers – the Over would definitely win.

There are now 13 states in the U.S. that allow legal sports wagers, giving access to over 70 million potential gamblers. The list includes Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Compared to last year’s legal market, which only included seven states, exposure to legal gambling has more than doubled.

Forbes sports reporter Kristi Dosh quotes PlayUSA.com lead analyst Dustin Gouker as explaining, “With the proliferation of legal sports betting across the U.S., there is no doubt that this will be a record year for legal bets on the Super Bowl. An interesting matchup that is nearly a pick ’em will help spur action, too. As a result, records in states such as Nevada and New Jersey, where both online and retail sports betting were legal for last year’s game, are also in jeopardy.”

With 70 million potential gamblers ready to embrace the big game, compared to the 30 million from last year, breaking the $400-million mark shouldn’t be difficult. Given that eight of the now legal states, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, now allow online wagers, as well, the odds for the Over on a legal gambling market prop bet to hit become even greater.

Super Bowl to Attract $400 Million in Wagers, PlayUSA.Com Analysts Predict

Patrick_Mahomes_(Jeffrey Beall)

 Legal online and retail sportsbooks across the country will take in $400 million in total bets for Super Bowl LIV, analysts for PlayUSA.com project. Even if less money comes in, the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, set for Sunday, Feb. 2, will almost certainly bring in more money via legal sportsbooks than ever before.

“With the proliferation of legal sports betting across the U.S., there is no doubt that this will be a record year for legal bets on the Super Bowl,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayUSA.com. “An interesting matchup that is nearly a pick ’em will help spur action, too. As a result, records in states such as Nevada and New Jersey, where both online and retail sports betting were legal for last year’s game, are also in jeopardy.”

The Super Bowl is easily the most bet-on sporting event in the U.S., drawing an estimated $6 billion in legal and illegal bets in 2019, according to the American Gaming Association. That number will reach almost $7 billion in 2020, the AGA estimates.

For this year’s game, consider:

  • Thirteen states — Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Oregon, Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New York — representing a combined population of 70 million, will offer a means to place a legal bet on this year’s Super Bowl.
  • Eight states — Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Oregon — offer both online and retail sports betting.
  • Seven states, representing a combined population of 30 million, accepted legal bets for last year’s game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. In addition, some states had yet to launch online sportsbooks, leaving retail sportsbooks as the only vehicle to place a bet in states such as Pennsylvania.
  • The country’s two largest sports betting markets, Nevada and New Jersey, combined to generate more than $180 million in bets for the 2019 game.
  • New Jersey sportsbooks, which offered legal wagering on the Super Bowl for the first time in 2019, attracted $34.9 million in bets but lost $4.6 million.
  • Nevada’s $145.9 million handle was the state’s second-best all-time, but down from the record $158.6 million in 2018.

“Not only has the number of legal sports jurisdictions doubled from last year’s game, states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania have boomed,” Gouker said. “That all adds up to a historic weekend ahead for sports betting.”

Kansas City is currently a consensus 1.5-point favorite over the 49ers. And with the Chiefs’ top-ranked passing attack matched up against the 49ers’ second-ranked pass defense, the over/under is now set at 54 points.

Prop bets should once again bring added attention from bettors to the game. Books will offer odds on aspects of the game that range from what player will score the first touchdown to the color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach.

“Online and mobile sportsbooks are a key tool in driving in-game and prop betting, giving states with a robust digital presence a significant advantage,” Gouker said. “In New Jersey, nearly 88% of all bets were made online in December. And that allows operators to attract bettors with prop bets and keep them engaged with in-game betting.”

National Lacrosse League To Host First-Ever Team Business Summit In Las Vegas This Week

The National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the premier professional lacrosse league in the world, will be holding its first-ever team business summit this week atMGM’s Mandalay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The three days of meetings and seminars will culminate with Saturday’s historic matchup between the San Diego Seals and the Colorado Mammoth at Orleans Arena, the first-ever professional lacrosse game in Las Vegas.

“We are excited to be with all our Clubs and new marketing partner, MGM to bring our team and league leadership together for a unique opportunity to review best practices and discuss the strategic growth of our league and the sport of lacrosse,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “The NLL is in the midst of historic business growth with so many new partners that convening all of our stakeholders in one place to capitalize on the momentum will add value for our teams and ultimately our fans.”

In addition to hearing from the teams on their best successes and strategies, executives will hear and learn from executives from the UFC, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, as well as league partners Turner Sports, Two Circles, Greenfly and others, on best practices, evolving business strategies and new partnership and revenue generating activities. Over seventy league and team executives and partners are expected to participate.

The NLL is the premier professional lacrosse league, ranking third in average attendance for pro indoor sports, with 13 teams in key markets across North America. The NLL experienced substantial growth last season with nearly a million total ticket sales, a 28-percent increase from 2017-18, and 74 percent of ticket sales were from people who never played lacrosse. Digital viewership also rose significantly through B/R Live, showing substantial increases in total unit sales (up 151 percent from last year), average unique viewers (+27 percent), and average minute audiences (+14 percent). Sponsorship revenues are projected at a 29 percent increase year over year as well. 

For the most up to date information and breaking news, sign up for the NLL newsletter at NLL.com. Also follow Deputy Commissioner Jessica Berman and Commissioner Sakiewicz on Twitter @JessicaBerman1 and @NLLcommish, respectively. 

Americans will bet $6.8b on the 2020 Super Bowl. Or not.

America’s sports bettors plan to splash out big time on their 2020 Super Bowl wagers, at least, according to the latest fearless forecast from the American Gaming Association (AGA).

On Tuesday, the AGA released its annual forecast for how much Americans plan to bet on the single biggest day on the domestic sporting calendar. The AGA says some 26m Americans will place a wager on Sunday’s big game – 3m more than the AGA estimated would bet on 2019’s Super Bowl – spending a combined $6.8b in the process.

The AGA has been offering similarly outsized predictions for years, often based on profoundly shaky mathematical underpinnings. In 2015, the AGA estimated total Super Bowl betting handle would top out at around $3.9b, using a 1999 report to arrive at its final figures.

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EPL midweek review: Manchester United humbled by Burnley

The English Premier League always comes alive in midweek games, and this week has been no different. There were shocks, crocks and last-minute blocks as London derbies were settled, injury time was an invitation to drama and… Liverpool won on the road again.

While clubs like Bournemouth, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester all gained important wins, the games at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and Molineux just mattered more.

Newcastle United managed a draw at Everton despite being 2-0 down after 90 minutes, two Lejeune strikes deep into injury time salvaging a point where none seemed possible to garner at Goodison Park. Southampton were convincing again in South London, beating Crystal Palace 2-0 to move into the top 10.  But we start out detailed recap of the action in West London.

Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal

MGM a new gaming partner of Las Vegas Raiders

Casino operator MGM Resorts has inked a new partnership with the National Football League’s Las Vegas Raiders while the boss of the Washington Redskins wants betting windows at his team’s new digs.

On Thursday, MGM announced that it had signed on as an Official Gaming Partner of the Las Vegas Raiders, who officially shed their Oakland roots for good just the day before. MGM also became a Founding Partner of Allegiant Stadium, which will be the Raiders’ new home field when the next NFL season kicks off this September.

MGM, which previously signed a gaming partnership with the New York Jets, will now have prominent signage throughout Allegiant Stadium and will run a VIP lounge called the MGM Club. In exchange, the Raiders get a lot of MGM’s money, some of which will hopefully be used to finally give Raiders owner Mark Davis a grownup haircut.

MGM isn’t the first casino operator to have hooked up with the Raiders, as Caesars Entertainment was named a founding partner of the new stadium over a year ago. Caesars also struck a marketing partnership with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and became the NFL’s first Official Casino Sponsor in January 2019.

F.A. Cup 5th round review: West Ham humbled at home

West Ham 0-1 West Brom

The Hammers were left looking like the blunt implement they are as West Bromwich Albion turned from Championship leaders to F.A. Cup spoilers by winning 1-0 at a stunned London Stadium.

It wasn’t so much that West Ham lost and West Brom won, after all, The Baggies are top of the Championship, just four places below their East End counterparts. It was the manner of the defeat that shocked the West Ham fans, many of whom left before the end of the game in disgust.

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