When favorites win, books come apart at the binding.
Sunday was a bizarre day that saw 10 of 12 games stay under the total, but “Sunday Night Football” was a boon for the betting public.
The 81-point outburst slammed the books in the late window in what would have otherwise been a Week 1 win.
“We were happy with engagement for Week 1 – especially around our new ghost leg promotion,” Johnny Avello, Director of Sports Operations at DraftKings, told The Post. “The high-scoring Sunday Night Football game was good for customers, with star players across the board finding the endzone and putting up big numbers. It was the bettors’ week – but it’s a long season, and now our players have more to come back with, which ultimately drives excitement and engagement.”
The action on the Ravens vs. Bills was so massive that it was a major result for all of the books this weekend.
Although BetMGM tells The Post that the underdogs covering on Thursday and Friday were a boon for the sportsbook before the late Sunday window massacre.
BetMGM, like surely every book, saw bad results in the ever-popular “anytime touchdown scorer” market with plenty of favorites plunging into the endzone throughout the day.
ESPN BET reported similar difficulties in the betting market through Week 1, starting with the “Thursday Night Football” game.
“Week 1 always has a few surprises, like Steelers-Jets going well over the total despite being the most bet under of the day, but between favorites largely taking care of business and many popular SGP selections hitting, there were wins to be had for bettors,” Adrian Horton, Senior Director, North American Sports Trading, ESPN BET, told The Post.
“While the Eagles didn’t cover on Thursday, many bettors got off to a hot start as Hurts 1+ TD, Barkley 1+ TD, and Eagles ML were the three most popular SGP selections for the opener. Friday went back in the book’s favor with the Chargers winning outright, and a majority of live-betting went towards the Chiefs as bettors looked for a customary Mahomes comeback.”
“The Sunday slate was another good day for customers, capped off by the high-scoring Sunday Night Football matchup where 28 out of our 30 most-bet player props cashed,” the ESPN BET director continued.
That’s a stark reality, as sportsbooks clearly had a massive liability in Week 1 on player props, and this was a particularly tough week.
“Similar to Friday night, live bettors jumped on the Bills, with 74 percent of in-game moneyline bets on Buffalo, who went as high as +2000 in-game on ESPN BET,” Horton continued. “While a majority of those live tickets cashed, around two-thirds of live handle came in on the Ravens.”
Week 1 is not yet over, either.
The Vikings vs. Bears on “Monday Night Football” will generate a ton of interest, with ESPN reporting that 58.9 percent of the handle is on the Bears +1.5.
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.