The Book Report Volume 13
We here at the Book Report love to talk about numbers. Whether we are talking handle or spreads, numbers are what make sports gambling so much fun. However, this week, we got some numbers that were simply shocking.
The state of New Jersey announced their handle for the month of November for sports betting and even the most experienced sports gambling expert was impressed. For the 4th consecutive month, New Jersey beat the previous record for handle for a one state. Nevada last November had the previous high water mark in the U.S. but the Garden State set a new standard by reporting over 930 million dollars wagered at its sportsbooks.
One amazing fact about New Jersey beating Nevada’s record for handle 4 months straight is that the books in the Silver State seemingly aren’t concerned about it at all. Insiders have told me that the sports gambling companies know that the future of sports gambling is going to happen outside of Las Vegas and as long as Vegas continues to be a destination city, the books on the Strip will always be active. Las Vegas also continues to take larger wagers on a consistent basis and mobile wagering has also helped keep Nevada’s handle high.
Nevada did set a new record for handle in October of 2020, reporting a $660 million bet at its sportsbooks, but New Jersey is on pace to break $6 billion dollars wagered for the calendar year of 2020. That would be nearly $1 billion more than any year for the books of Nevada. Clearly, being in close proximity to New York and Pennsylvania has aided in the growth of sports gambling in New Jersey but the state has made it extremely easy for customers to use their mobile applications.
This week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was in favor of legalizing sports gambling across the entire state of New York, including New York City. If that happens, the handle for New Jersey is expected to decrease but we are a long way from that becoming a reality.
As we go into 2021, it will be interesting to watch states like Illinois and Colorado’s handle as sports gambling because more available via mobile applications and if either can give New Jersey a run for the money.
View the top deposit bonuses and promo codes for each sportsbook >>
BetMGM
The most active sports betting company when it comes to partnerships with pro sports teams has been BetMGM. The company has launched deals with numerous NFL, NBA, and MLB teams already, and this week, they are preparing for the launch of the BetMGM app in Michigan with an offer to Detroit Lion fans.
And just in case you like hockey more than football:
DraftKings Sportsbook
Monday was the bad beat of bad beats as the Ravens were 3-point favorites over Browns on Monday Night Football. Everyone thought it was going to be a push as the game was 45-42 with 2 seconds left. Then, heartbreak for Brown’s backers.
But don’t worry, the folks at DraftKings took care of their customers:
Also this week, DK made history and it was something that would have made my grandfather very proud. Every Christmas, my Grandpa Joe would give us all scratch tickets as part of our gifts. He would say, “why give you $50 when I could give you even more?â€. We also loved it. Well, DK has launched the gift of sports bets this year through gift cards that can be purchased at your local convenience store.
DK announced that they have launched an industry-first retail gift card. The launch will expand DraftKings’ presence in convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Speedway, Dollar General, and Sheetz, and also enable consumers to gift the DraftKings experience to others in $25 and $50 denominations.
“Just in time for the upcoming holiday season, we are proud to work with InComm Payments to get DraftKings gift cards on the shelves at several popular retailers,†said Matt Kalish, Co-Founder, and President of DraftKings North America. “We are thrilled to provide our customers with another way to fund their accounts and engage with our real money products through this first-of-its-kind offering.â€
FanDuel Sportsbook
FD also announced that they are taking care of their customers due to the Raven’s safety at the end of the game. They announced in a release “FanDuel Sportsbook is doing a Bad Beat Refund today. We are going to refund all pre-live, straight spread bets placed on the Browns +3, +3.5, and +4.5 from last night’s game. The total refund will be $750k and will appear in customer’s accounts in site credit.â€
A few details on trading for Monday Night Football:
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- MNF was the most bet game of the weekend.. The play at the end of the game was a seven-figure negative swing for the sportsbook going from a potential push at +3 to paying out Baltimore winners.
- Ravens hit a low price of -100000 after kicking the field goal with 2 secs left. Their high-price was +310, just before the 4th and 5 completion and before Lamar was back on the field.
- The Browns got to a low of -420 at the same time as Ravens were +310. Their high point was +980 in the 2nd half when down 2 scores (until the outcome was known).
- The last point the Money Line was traded was after the field-goal from Justin Tucker when the Ravens were -100000 and the Browns were +2600
Other Sportsbooks
BetRivers in New Jersey announced the following for tonight’s Thursday Night Football game here in Vegas:
Chargers (4-9) at Raiders (7-6): Bettors expect points on Thursday night, and a lot of them. Even with the largest over (53 points) of Week 15, the public is backing the Chargers (+160 ML) and Raiders (-3, -180 ML) to engage in a shootout with 87% of the O/U handle. In fact, no team has allowed more points over the past three games than the Raiders, and only three other teams have allowed more points over the past three games than the Chargers. The Raiders are 2-3 ATS in their last five, while the Chargers are 1-4 ATS. Bettors are backing Las Vegas with 78% of the spread handle and 69% of the moneyline handle.
Sugarhouse in PA announced information on the college football weekend:
It’s championship weekend in college football, and the showdown between No. 2 Notre Dame (+275 ML) and No. 3 Clemson (-10.5, -360 ML) in the ACC Championship is leading the way in total money wagered, followed closely behind by No. 6 Iowa State (+155 ML) vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (-5.5 -195 ML) in the Big 12 Championship. Clemson is backed by 88% of the ML handle and 65% of the spread handle to get revenge for Notre Dame’s 47-40 double-overtime win in early November. Moneyline bettors are basically split, with 53% of the handle leaning toward Oklahoma. Bettors are more confident that the Cyclones will cover, backing Iowa State with 79% of the spread handle. Iowa State defeated Oklahoma 37-30 on the first weekend in October.
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Matt Perrault is a featured writer at BettingPros and the host of the Daily Juice podcast. For more from Matt, check out his archive and follow him @sportstalkmatt.