Another wild week of finishes in the NFL. Another week of heart-stopping action at the New Jersey sportsbooks. Week 4 was a little kinder to the public, who showed their strength in moving lines and benefitting from their positions on Sunday and Monday.
PlaySugarHouse sweetens prices
One of the biggest complaints the sports betting community has seen since books opened in the Garden State and beyond is that the new outlets didn’t offer as competitive pricing as offshore and other unregulated options. Initially, this became a moral argument of obeying the law and trusting the new brands to conduct honorable business and not welch when players won. By in large, this has been the case and the new books are earning customers.
One book decided to take a step towards offering better pricing than competition this past month. PlaySugarHouse has started to offer smaller vigs on the spreads and totals on the NFL action. Games will open with mostly 20-cent vigs, like almost all the books in New Jersey. Check on Sunday morning and those vigs drop to 13-15 cents.
Mattias Stetz, COO of PlaySugarHouse’s parent company Rush Street Gaming, noted their partnership with Kambi gives them the opportunity to provide more competitive pricing. “We have several vig options settings, and we have decided to live by our tagline ‘you deserve more’ and give the best possible odds to our players,” he said. “We believe this gives the best user experience, which is our goal.”
So far, the risk has paid off for PSH. Week-over-week sees continued growth in players. This could mean a jump in the revenue rankings in the increasingly crowded sports book field in NJ.
“This is a long-term play for us,” said Stetz. “We want to consistently have the best odds for the players.”
Flipping the lines
It was a better week for the public money in Week 4. The majority had taken the right side in at least eight of the 13 games on Sunday, with a couple pushes, according to data from William Hill. A couple correct fades were Cincinnati at Atlanta and Baltimore at Pittsburgh.
One game that jumped out on Sunday was the Texans-Colts. Throughout the week, that line saw the Colts favored. Most books opened on Monday with them giving a point at home to Houston. Sunday morning saw many of those books switch the position and make winless Houston the favorite on the road. William Hill, which had over two-thirds of the tickets and just under three-fifths of the spread betting leaning towards the Colts, closed with a pick’em on Sunday.
For most of the wild contest at Lucas Oil Stadium, the books looked smart. Andrew Luck rallied his team and sent the game into overtime. A controversial but gutsy call with the game tied backfired turned the tide one last time as the Texans won at the gun. In a week of wild finishes, this one may have been the zaniest.
Mile High momentum
September has been a very nice month for Kansas City’s new QB Patrick Mahomes. The second-year man has taken the starting role and shown he is ready for the spot. Three wins brought the Chiefs to Denver riding the momentum and the books bought the hype. KC spent most of the week favored by four or more in the AFC West showdown.
Before kickoff, those positions changed. Late money came in at multiple books, forcing a shift across the board toward the Broncos. The lines in Vegas and Jersey dropped to KC -3.5. Most books had 70% or more of their tickets on the Chiefs, while only FanDuel saw “sharp action” create a more even split of the money (54% KC).
Denver had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and the line drop seemed impertinent. Then Mahomes led his team to two late scores and won the game 27-23. That half point meant a big swing in favor of the public. To quote Spinal Tap: “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”
