NFL season is betting season
The first week of the National Football League (NFL) season is arguably the most highly anticipated time of the year for sports bettors. And with NFL betting comes the fun of massive wins and losses, like a $600,000 score for one high-rolling bettor this past weekend.
On Monday, ESPN’s David Purdum took a look back at betting highlights during the debut weekend of the NFL’s 100th season. Let’s review some of his more interesting ups and downs for bettors and sportsbooks on Week 1.
Ravens reward risk-taker
The highlight of Sunday’s gambling action was a $30,000 bet a PointsBet customer placed on the Baltimore Ravens.
As Purdum detailed, the “sharp client” placed his bet a week earlier with PointsBet. This was not a typical moneyline or spread bet, though, but rather a special type of bet offered by the sportsbook called “PointsBetting.”
In PointsBetting, you win or lose money based on the degree to which the team beats or misses the spread. Each point in either direction changes the bet result by one betting unit.
The bettor Purdum wrote about bet $30,000 on the Ravens as a 6-point favorite against the Miami Dolphins. The Ravens won 59-10. That could have earned the high roller $1.29 million, but the person put a stop loss on the bet, so he capped out at a $600,000 win.
Redskins save sportsbooks
The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas accepted a $45,000 moneyline bet on the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were heavy favorites over the Washington Redskins, so the bet at -450 odds only garnered the bettor a $10,000 profit.
That same game was also very significant for the sportsbooks. The Redskins were down by 12 late in the game and scored a touchdown with just a few seconds left. It was meaningless as far the outcome of the game was concerned, but the backdoor cover had serious betting implications.
Most money was on Philly, so the late touchdown gave the Caesars sportsbook a seven-figure swing. Other sportsbooks had similar results.
MGM sportsbook director Jeff Stoneback told Purdum:
Boy, did we get lucky in that game.”
Bettor puts $200,000 on underdogs
It wasn’t just the favorites that brought in the big bets over the weekend.
One deep-pocketed gambler bet $100,000 on two underdogs with DraftKings. The first bet was on the Indianapolis Colts +6.5 over the Los Angeles Chargers. The second was on the Jacksonville Jaguars +3.5 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite losing the game 30-24 in overtime, the Colts covered. That win was cancelled out for the New Jersey online bettor, though, as the Jaguars got blown out by two touchdowns. Fortunately for the bettor, DraftKings offered no vig for opening weekend, so the player broke even.