Betfred backs the Bengals

Betfred sportsbook, partner of the Cincinnati Bengals, is rewarding all Cincy Super Bowl bettors with early payouts before the AFC Championship Game is even played.

“I’m so pleased and so confident that I’ve decided to pay out on the Bengals

“We are the official sportsbook sponsors of the Cincinnati Bengals, and I’m so proud to be a sponsor,” said Fred Done, Betfred’s founder and CEO, in a video posted on the company’s Twitter account. “I’m so pleased and so confident that I’ve decided to pay out on the Bengals to win the pro football championship.”

Betfred joined forces with the Bengals on January 13 to obtain entry into the newly-formed Ohio market. The team reached the Super Bowl last year before falling to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20, but Done is supremely confident that they will finish the job this time around.

Increasing likelihood

The Bengals opened the season at +1400 to win the Super Bowl; now they are only +270, meaning tickets from the start of the season are over five times as valuable as ones today.

In case bettors were late to react, Betfred has also boosted Cincy’s Super Bowl odds to +300.

The Bengals are slight road favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs this week, in what is a rematch of last year’s AFC title game. Cincinnati won that encounter 27-24 in overtime thanks to a second-half comeback and an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

suffered a high-ankle sprain

The Chiefs opened as 1.5-point favorites, but were quickly bet down to as low as three-point underdogs due to the uncertainty surrounding Mahomes’ health. The presumptive MVP was injured in last weekend’s divisional game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and missed the end of the second quarter before returning for the third and fourth. It was later revealed he suffered a high-ankle sprain.

Mahomes poured cold water on many of the concerns by practicing in full on Thursday and showing up to his press conference without a limp, but many bettors still believe he is putting on a front. 

The lines have since shifted, and the Bengals are now one-point underdogs at many sportsbooks.

Establishing a connection

Bryan Bennett, COO of Betfred, revealed that the company lost a lot of money on last weekend’s AFC divisional round matchup against the Buffalo Bills as a majority of Ohio bettors backed the underdog Bengals on the road. Those hard-headed bettors ended on the right side of the lines, as the Bengals thrashed the Bills 27-10 and secured a spot in their second straight AFC Championship. 

With the connection to the Ohio market quickly growing, Betfred hopes that cashing the Super Bowl futures tickets shows its commitment to local bettors. 

can’t buy the publicity that comes with being able to promote our relationship”

“We’re good with the Bengals to keep winning,” Bennett said during a Tuesday interview. “Can’t buy the publicity that comes with being able to promote our relationship with them for two weeks leading up to a Super Bowl.”

Ohio’s sports betting market has been a resounding success less than one month into its existence. It has already outperformed first-month numbers from the previous market leader, New York, and could grow an even larger profile if the Bengals win Sunday.

The American Gaming Association estimates that close to $8bn will be wagered on this year’s Super Bowl. If the Bengals make it that far, much less win, Betfred’s altruism will could be paid back in spades.