Category Archives: NFL

Nevada crushes New Jersey in Super Bowl betting

Betting on the 2019 Super Bowl was nearly as anti-climactic as the game itself, at least in terms of betting volume.

The NFL’s marquee contest was an absolute stinker on the field, but it marked the first time that legal wagering on the outcome was available outside Nevada, so we guess we have to talk about it.

Starting in Nevada, early numbers show the day’s total betting handle hitting just under $146m, around $12.6m below last year’s record. However, this year’s net win came in around $10.8m, a significant improvement over last year’s paltry $1.1m.

One lucky bettor at Nevada’s South Point casino sportsbook turned a $250 wager into $100k by taking a 400-1 flutter on the Rams scoring exactly three points. So if you want to blame someone for Sunday’s snorefest, there’s your guy.

Super Bowl Props: Tony Romo, Mark Wahlberg, combined score

Now that the Super Bowl’s “bye” week is in the rearview mirror, the props for Sunday’s LIII from Atlanta between the AFC champion New England Patriots and NFC champion Los Angeles Rams are really rolling out.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

This year’s Super Bowl is televised by CBS, and that means the biggest stage for second-year analyst Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who never got to the big game as a player.

Romo has been nothing short of brilliant as an analyst, continually accurately predicting a play an offense is going to run based on formations. He did it numerous times in the AFC Championship Game between the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. You can bet on how many plays Romo predicts ahead of time in Super Bowl LIII with an over/under of 7.5.

Super Bowl LIII special props: Let’s get nuts!

If you’re looking for variety in your sports betting, there’s no better time of year than the Super Bowl. There’s your typical football wagers like moneyline, totals or spread. There’s the props you hear about on the local news, when Billy McWeatherton says, “Oh my, did you know you could bet on the coin toss? Ha ha ha!”

For the real gambler though, this time of year is unique because of the special props. Thanks to Bodog, we’ve got the most special props for you to take a look at.

We’ve got three wagers for U.S. President Donald Trump. Will he tweet over or under 6 times total on February 3? Odds are favoring the over right now. You can also bet on if he’ll attend the game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Brady is a Trump supporter, but Bodog’s favoring a “no.” Finally, will the Super Bowl champions be treated to a feast of McDonalds, Burger King and KFC, or something else? It could depend on a U.S. shutdown, but fast food will be the long shot.

Netflix has the hot new documentary “Fyre,” and you can bet if the festival conman Billy McFarland will be  selling “tickets” to the big game.

Super Bowl Props: Coin toss, anthem odds on board

For most sports bets, you aren’t going to get 50/50 odds of being right. However, that’s the case with one of the most popular Super Bowl bets every year: the coin toss. Both options are -105 because, obviously, there’s a 50 percent chance of it landing heads and 50 percent tails. It’s important to note that the prop is on where it lands, not what is called.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The New England Patriots are the visiting team and will call the toss before Super Bowl LIII this Sunday in Atlanta against the Los Angeles Rams, and it’s well-known that usual Patriots caller Matthew Slater calls heads always. The coin toss result has been oddly streaky over the years. Last year it came up heads but the previous four years it was tails. The five Super Bowls before that all came up heads. For one impossible 14-year stretch (Super Bowl 32 through 45), the NFC team won the coin toss every single time.

Another popular pre-game prop is the length of the national anthem, which this year will be sung by R&B legend Gladys Knight. She is given an over/under of one minute, 47 seconds. Take this with a grain of salt, but an alleged recording of Knight signing the national anthem has surfaced from 1991 and she finished in one minute, 45 seconds. That Knight forgets or omits a word during the anthem is +300 with no at -500.  Will any player take a knee during the anthem? Yes is +300 and no -500. That type of protest has largely died down in the NFL, but there are still a few players around the league who did so during the regular season.

First lawsuit over blown call at Saints-Rams game filed

The Action Network’s Darren Roven called it – sort of. After referees blew a blatantly obvious pass interference (not to mention helmet-to-helmet contact) penalty during the Saints-Rams game this past Sunday, Roven said that he expected the NFL to face a class-action lawsuit within 24 hours. He has now followed up on that prediction, pointing out that a lawsuit (the first of possibly many) has now been filed.

In a Twitter post from yesterday, the sports gambling expert stated, “BREAKING: Attorney Frank D’Amico says he has filed a civil suit in New Orleans on behalf of Saints season ticket holders to make the right call and bring both teams back to replay the end of the game. First reported by @TraversWDSU. More to come.”

According to an accompanying story prepared by Action Network, the lawsuit was filed against the NFL, NFL Properties and the man who steers the ship, Commissioner Roger Goodell. It seeks to convince a judge to force the league to reverse the no-call after Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman obviously interfered with a pass attempt between Saints quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Tommylee Lewis. If the judge agrees to the terms of the lawsuit, the game could be replayed from the point of the foul to its conclusion – less than two minutes – in accordance with NFL Rule 17, Section 2.

According to the lawyer, in speaking with The Action Network, “The law says that a judge can compel an organization who does business in the state to follow its own bylaws in customers in that state are damaged. There’s no doubt people have been damaged.”

Sports gambling expert: NFL could face lawsuit over blown calls

The NFL, like all major sports organizations, wants sports gamblers to pay an “integrity fee” on their wagers, with anywhere from 1-4% of the bet going to the league. It’s difficult to fathom how the NFL can assert that it deserves to receive the fee to ensure the integrity of the game when it has become quite clear that it doesn’t understand what integrity means. Case in point, this past Sunday’s NFC final matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams.

With under two minutes left in the game, Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis receives a vicious open-field hit from behind by Rams’ cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Video of the play has been shown on social media countless times, including by NFL Humor on Twitter. Take a look for yourself if you haven’t already seen it – The shot heard around the world.

There are field judges all over the place and the only way anyone could have missed the penalty is if they were blind. The lack of a yellow flag being thrown has many now saying that there had to have been some type of under-the-table deal within the league afoot – whether at the executive level or the referee level – to prevent the Saints from winning.

The lack of proper officiating – or even subpar officiating – has at least sports gambling expert predicting that the NFL is soon going to be faced with a lawsuit. In a Twitter post, Darren Roven of the Action Network asserts, “Fully expect a class action lawsuit to be filed against the NFL in the next 24 hours as a result of people claiming losses from bad call in Rams-Saints game. Don’t know how convincing the claims will be, but have no doubt they will be made.”

AFC Championship Game NFL betting preview

It’s a chalk final four in the NFL playoffs, and in the AFC Championship Game the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs are 3-point favorites over the No. 2 New England Patriots. The winner likely would be a short underdog against either the New Orleans Saints or Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Rather amazingly, it’s the first time Kansas City has hosted an AFC title game – not like that franchise hasn’t had success in the past. This also could be an official changing of the guard in terms of the biggest star quarterback in the NFL. That has been the Patriots’ Tom Brady for years, but the 41-year-old could be set to cede that title to 23-year-old Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.

In his first season as the starter, Mahomes became just the second quarterback ever to have a season in which he threw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. The other was Brady’s former rival, the retired Peyton Manning. Brady has had a 5,000-yard season and a 50-TD season, but never at once. Brady is also a three-time regular-season MVP, an award Mahomes is all but a lock to win the night before the Super Bowl.

NFC Championship Game NFL betting preview

No sixth seed has reached or won the Super Bowl since the Green Bay Packers in the 2010 season. No team has repeated as Super Bowl champion since the 2004 New England Patriots. Both streaks will continue because the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles blew a 14-0 lead at the No. 1 New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round and lost 20-14.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

So, the Saints will host the NFC Championship Game for the second time in franchise history with the No. 2 Los Angeles Rams as visitors on Sunday.

The Saints’ only other trip to this game was following the 2009 season when they beat the visiting Minnesota Vikings in overtime. Drew Brees and company would go on to beat Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts to win the franchise’s only Super Bowl. It’s also just the second Saints-Rams meeting in the playoffs as they met in the Wild Card Round in the 2000 season.

Super Bowl Odds Update: NFL reaches final four

If you like big upsets, well, you might have to wait for the NCAA Tournament’s March Madness to get your fix in a major sporting event. That’s because the NFL‘s conference championship Sunday is completely chalk with the top two seeds in the AFC and NFC facing off. It’s also the first time in the Super Bowl era that the top four offensive teams in the league all made the final four.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

While the numbers have changed from the Divisional Round, the order of favorites to win Super Bowl LIII on the first Sunday of February in Atlanta hasn’t changed. The NFC top-seeded New Orleans Saints are +175 to win the second Super Bowl in franchise history. They would be right at home in Atlanta as they play there once per season against the NFC South rival Falcons.

New Orleans has never lost a home playoff game with Drew Brees as its starting quarterback with the No. 2 seed Los Angeles Rams (+350) heading to the bayou for Sunday’s first game. For a while this season, the Rams were Super Bowl favorites, but that changed when they lost in New Orleans 45-35 in Week 9. Los Angeles had little problem dumping the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round as Sean McVay became the youngest head coach to ever win a playoff game at age 32.

DraftKings championship mishap costs punter $670k

DraftKings is catching a bit of flak for the way their Sports Betting National Championship ended on January 13. Rufus Peabody, who goes by the username Opti5624, was in the lead after Day 3, but could not make a bet on the final game between the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints, and lost out to rleejr86.

The $1 million first prize slipped away from Peabody in the most frustrating fashion. He placed a winning, all-in bet on the New England Patriots to cover against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite winning that wager, the game ended at 4:37 p.m. ET. The Saints game started just four minutes later, and Peabody’s winnings were not paid out before kickoff.

The interim between the early afternoon and late afternoon games on NFL Sunday is one of the most stressful for operators and punters alike. Bookies make their best effort to pay out winning wagers as quickly as possible, and punters stress over getting in their second round of bets in the short period of time before kickoff. It’s a common occurrence during the NFL season, and made worse as the games get bigger and volume increases. Unfortunately, DraftKings were a little too slow this Sunday, and Peabody suffered for it.

A spokesman for DraftKings, James Chisholm, said in a statement, “While we must follow our contest rules, we sincerely apologize for the experience several customers had where their bets were not graded in time to allow wagering on the Saints-Eagles game. We will learn from this experience and improve upon the rules and experience for future events.”

NFL Divisional Playoffs Sunday betting preview

There were seven new teams in the 2018 NFL playoffs compared to last year, but as we head to the Divisional Round there’s just one newbie among Sunday’s two games.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

That new club would be the AFC fifth-seeded Los Angeles Chargers, who visit the No. 2 New England Patriots in Sunday’s first game. The Patriots are just 4-point favorites, which seems a bit low considering how dominant the team has been at home overall and especially in the postseason since Tom Brady took over as quarterback.

New England was the NFL’s only unbeaten team at home this season and has won its past 15 (12-3 ATS) at Gillette Stadium by an average margin of nearly 16 points. Brady is 19-3 at home in his playoff career and has never lost to the Chargers, regular season or playoffs, in seven starts.

NFL Divisional Playoffs Saturday betting preview

Saturday’s Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs will showcase the league’s two best offenses from the regular season in the AFC top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and NFC No. 2 Los Angeles Rams after both had byes in the first round.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

While the Chiefs are the AFC’s top seed, they aren’t even the hottest team in their own matchup Saturday afternoon against the No. 6 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts started 1-5 and have lost just once since, becoming only the third club ever to reach the postseason after a 1-5 start. The Colts were slight Wild Card dogs at the Houston Texans but largely dominated in a 21-7 victory that showcased the Colts’ vastly improved running game and defense.

Indianapolis also has never lost to Kansas City in four playoff matchups, including rallying from 28 down to win 45-44 in the last postseason meeting following the 2013 season. Oddsmakers don’t care as the Chiefs are 5-point betting favorites. Kansas City is an impossibly bad 1-11 SU and ATS in its past 12 playoff games. The Colts are 3-9 ATS in their past 12 January road games.

Super Bowl odds update: Saints still leaders

Entering Wild Card Weekend the four betting favorites to win Super Bowl LIII on the first Sunday of February in Atlanta were the NFC top-seeded New Orleans Saints (+240), NFC No. 2 Los Angeles Rams (+435), AFC top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs (+470) and AFC No. 2 New England Patriots (+650).

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Being as all four teams had first-round playoff byes, not much has changed at the top, nor should it have. The Saints are now +250, Chiefs +400, Rams +400 and Patriots +550. If you are wondering, and we were, the Saints and Chiefs (should chalk hold, which it often doesn’t) haven’t met since Week 7 of the 2016 season in Kansas City, a 27-21 Chiefs win. Take very little from that because current Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was still at Texas Tech, and those Saints were just 7-9 that year.

The NFC third-seeded Chicago Bears had the shortest Super Bowl odds of +675 of the eight teams to play on Wild Card Weekend. Three favorites lost last weekend and the Bears were the biggest of them, falling 16-15 to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Chicago kicker Cody Parkey had issues this season in hitting uprights, and on the potential winning field goal against Philly in the final seconds he not only hit the left upright but then the crossbar too from 43 yards out.

NFL Wild Card weekend 2019 betting preview

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Every year under the current NFL playoff format at least four teams made the postseason that didn’t the previous year. That streak continued in 2018 with a bang as a whopping seven new teams will compete for the Super Bowl: the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks.

Just a reminder that in this weekend’s wild card round, the division-winning third seed in each conference hosts the No. 6, and the division-winning fourth seed hosts the No. 5. The top two seeds in each conference are on the bye.

The first game of the weekend is Saturday afternoon and an all-AFC South affair as the No. 6 Colts visit the No. 3 Texans, who are 1-point favorites. The teams split two very entertaining games during the regular season, each winning by a field goal on the road. Indianapolis has covered three of the past four overall in the series. A Colts upset would send them to Kansas City. Houston would visit New England with a victory.

Caesars Entertainment named NFL’s first Official Casino Sponsor

The National Football League has selected casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corporation (CEC) as its first official gaming industry sponsor.

On Thursday, the NFL announced that CEC would become its “first ever Official Casino Sponsor” effective with this weekend’s start of the 2019 NFL playoffs. The NFL said the ‘multi-year” pact was intended to offer “unique experiences” to football fans through CEC’s “casino properties, celebrity chefs, premier music artists and a wide range of entertainment elements.”

Caesars will now have the “exclusive right” to use NFL trademarks in the US and the UK “to promote Caesars casino properties and activate at key NFL events including the Super Bowl and NFL Draft.” This year’s draft will be held in Las Vegas and some of CEC’s Vegas properties will host “elements” of the draft.

The announcement notes that Caesars has “relationships” with eight NFL teams – although it lists only seven team names – including the Oakland Raiders, for whose new Las Vegas home stadium CEC has become a founding partner.

NFL push for integrity fee misdirected

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) last May, states across the land are scrambling to get into the sports gambling business. Several states have already passed their own sets of laws to oversee the activity, while several more are expected to introduce legislation this year. Even before the Justices reached a decision, professional sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA were vocalizing their opinion that sports wagers should include an “integrity fee” paid to the leagues in order to allow them to police their games and ensure teams didn’t try to rig the outcome. They have argued that the fee could be anywhere from 1-4%, which could result in millions of dollars more added to their piggy banks. In the case of the NFL, perhaps they need to consider charging the league’s teams the integrity fee – not sportsbooks.

The NFL (and others, but we’re only interested in the NFL right now) has a rule, the Personnel (Injury) Report Policy. Per the policy as it was released in 2017 (in pdf), “The Personnel (Injury) Report Policy has been a cornerstone of public confidence in the NFL for many decades. The credibility of the NFL, teams, owners and team personnel requires full compliance with and uniform enforcement of the policy. The intent is to provide full and complete information on player availability. It is NFL policy that information for dissemination to the public on all injured players be reported in a satisfactory manner by clubs to the league office, the opposing team, local and national media, and broadcast partners each game week of the regular season and postseason.”

That opening structure seems to be cut-and-dry and doesn’t allow for much leeway in its interpretation. It is surprising, then, that the Pittsburgh Steelers overtly lied on a recent injury report, concealing the fact that wide receiver Antonio Brown wasn’t going to miss the game against the Cincinnati Bengals for injuries, but, rather, because of an internal team dispute.

As Mike Florio of NBC Sports points out, “As one league source has observed, ‘overt lying’ on the injury report is a much bigger problem than Brown’s antics, because shenanigans with the injury report speak to competitive issues, about which the league office should be very concerned. It’s unknown whether the league office actually is concerned or will take action; the NFL has not responded to an inquiry from PFT regarding the situation.”

NFL Week 17 betting lines and trends roundup

The 2018 NFL regular season concludes with plenty of drama around the league as there are two playoff spots available in the AFC – including two division titles – and one postseason opening in the NFC but no division crowns up for grabs.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

There is one winner-take-all game and it was flexed to the prime-time window as the Indianapolis Colts visit the Tennessee Titans, who are 3.5-point underdogs. The winner is in the playoffs as at worst a wild-card team and would win the AFC South Division if the Houston Texans lose as 7-point home favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Will the Titans have starting quarterback Marcus Mariota? That’s the big question after he left Week 16 with an elbow injury, a problem that has plagued him all year. Last thing the Titans need considering they are 2-12 SU and 3-11 against the spread in the past 14 against the Colts. The Titans-Colts winner probably won’t be taking the division if recent history is any indication as the Jaguars are 2-13 SU in their past 15 road games inside the AFC South.

NFL Week 16 betting lines and trends roundup

Entering Week 16, just two playoff spots have been clinched in the AFC (no division titles) with three spots up for grabs in the NFC (but just one division crown remaining).

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Two games again on Saturday this week, starting with the Washington Redskins at Tennessee Titans. Both are alive for a wild-card spot and in their respective divisions, although it’s still unlikely either makes the postseason. Tennessee is a 10-point favorite and covered seven of its past nine at home.

In prime time, the Baltimore Ravens visit the Los Angeles Chargers in what could be a wild-card round preview. The Ravens currently hold down the AFC’s final playoff spot, while the Chargers are assured no worse than a wild-card spot but could be the conference’s No. 1 overall seed as well. Los Angeles is a 4.5-point favorite but has covered just two of seven at home this season.

Codere is NBA’s Mexico gaming partner; NFL casino partner hunt?

The National Basketball Association has named Spanish gaming operator Codere as an official gaming partner for the Mexican market.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Codere was the league’s first official gaming partner in Mexico. Codere operates both retail and online gambling units in Mexico, which accounts for about one-fifth of Codere’s global revenue.

In addition to the usual cross-promotional privileges and access to official NBA data for in-play wagering purposes, the deal will also see Codere named an associate member of the NBA Mexico City Games 2018, which features the Orlando Magic playing two regular season matches against the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz at the Mexico City Arena this week.

The deal is the second Latin American gaming partnership the NBA has signed this week, following a similar pact with Supermatch, the sports betting division of Uruguay’s lottery monopoly. The NBA has also inked North American gaming partnerships with The Stars Group and MGM Resorts as well as a European deal with France’s Francaise des Jeux (FDJ).

NFL week 15 betting lines and trends roundup

Week 15 is the last of the NFL season with a Thursday night game and the first with Saturday action. It’s also a huge weekend in the AFC with four legitimate Super Bowl contenders facing each other.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The last TNF game of the year is the best of them all matchup wise: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs, with Kansas City a 3.5-point favorite. If Kansas City beats the Chargers for the 10th straight time, the Chiefs will win the AFC West and essentially lock up the top seed in the conference. A Chargers upset could give both to Los Angeles. Kansas City is 5-0-1 ATS in its past six night games.

The marquee matchup on Sunday is New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers, with the Pats as 1-point favorites. New England still has a shot at the AFC’s top seed as it holds a tiebreaker over Kansas City, but it’s more likely the Patriots are playing for the No. 2 spot. They lost in about the most unlikely fashion possible this past Sunday in Miami.