Casinos and gaming companies focused great amounts of time and various capital to open sportsbooks in New Jersey for the start of the NFL season.
Be careful what you wish for.
For the third week in a row, bettors across the country rode favorites to significant victories against the house in NFL action.
Nevada claimed losses of around $10 million for the weekend betting. No numbers have been released from New Jersey, but the market isn’t yet large enough for such sizeable losses.
What’s striking about that number is that this was the smallest card of the regular season. Six teams off, including local favorites the Eagles and the Giants, meant only thirteen games spread out over three days.
In recent years, the NFL has scheduled marquee matchups for later in the season, where they have more impact. Week 9 featured two titanic clashes, as the Saints hosted the undefeated Rams while the Packers visited the Patriots.
However, not all the games can be potential postseason previews. Sometimes the dogs have fleas, sometimes they have mange and have to sleep outside.
In Week 9, the dogs weren’t good, the public saw that, and they bet accordingly.
Chiefs spear the books
The most bet contest at William Hill before the Sunday kickoffs was the Browns at Chiefs contest with 23% of the handle. KC rolled and went to 8-1 on the season.
“In a great weekend of NFL matchups, the players had their best week of the season as it was one of the worst weeks for sportbooks in recent memory,” said Mattias Stetz, COO at Rush Street Interactive, the parent company of PlaySugarHouse. “Our worst result by far was the Chiefs covering vs. the Browns. The Chiefs are now 8-1 against the spread and have consistently been outperforming oddsmakers and attracting heavy betting interest.”
William Hill saw big win for the public on the Vikings and Panthers, both victorious at home. PlaySugarHouse saw players cash on the Bears and the Steelers, who the public correctly faded on the road at William Hill as well.
The run of winning favorites produced many parlay winners made on mobile devices, PSH also reported.
The most noteworthy action on the lines came in the Texans-Broncos game. The line opened with Houston as a favorite but flipped towards the home team. At Hill, the Texans sold more tickets but the Broncos sold more money. A missed field goal at the end meant a win for the books on the spread.
Those two aforementioned marquee games? Both wins for the public. Despite the line moving towards the Packers during the week, the Pats were the bettors’ favorite and covered. And the Saints ended the Rams’ undefeated run and earned the public’s support.
