Fans of sports and sports betting were in for a treat this past week with the 2023 Sports Equinox occurring on Monday, Oct. 30. The event saw the day feature MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS games for the only day of the year this happens.
Here's a look at other top sports betting stories for the past week and the week ahead.
Major League Baseball: The 2023 MLB season is officially over with the Texas Rangers defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks four games to one in a best-of-seven series. The win marked the first World Series in franchise history for the Rangers, who were big underdogs at the start of the season.
The Rangers were listed with odds of 50-to-1 to start the 2023 MLB season.
Benzinga shared that in June one bettor placed a $200 bet on the Rangers defeating the Diamondbacks to win the World Series. That bet paid out a profit of $80,000 for getting the exact prediction right.
NCAA Football: The first NCAA Playoff rankings were unveiled during the week and it was Ohio State that ranked first, despite ranking third in the AP Poll.
Here's a look at the top teams in the playoff rankings and their current odds to win the NCAA Championship from DraftKings Inc DKNG.
- Ohio State: +700
- Georgia: +240
- Michigan: +240
- Florida State: +600
- Washington: +1500
The five teams are among the eight that are still undefeated on the season with Air Force, and James Maidson and Liberty universities also having perfect records.
Related Link: Last Week’s Sports Betting Weekly Wrap
National Football League: There are no unbeaten NFL teams, but several teams with top records face off against each other in marquee Week 9 matchups this weekend.
The Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) and Miami Dolphins (6-2) are the Sunday morning game live from Germany. The Dallas Cowboys (5-2) and Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) also square off Sunday in a big matchup.
Current Super Bowl LVIII odds are:
Kansas City Chiefs: +500
San Francisco 49ers: +600
Philadelphia Eagles: +600
Miami Dolphins +850
Dallas Cowboys: +850
Detroit Lions: +1100
Cincinnati Bengals: +1400
Baltimore Ravens: +1500
Jacksonville Jaguars: +1600
Buffalo Bills: +1600
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey scored in his 17th straight NFL game counting the playoffs, extending his streak that has bettors aggressively backing him each week. McCaffrey now has nine rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns in eight games in the 2023 NFL season. The 49ers has its bye week this week, which will mean bettors will have to find another touchdown play.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has become a hot topic in the betting world and NFL viewership world thanks to his relationship with musician Taylor Swift. A report showed Kelce had better statistics at games when Swift was in attendance.
Kelce has 34 catches for 432 yards and two touchdowns in games Swift attends, averaging 108 yards per game, with the Chiefs also having a perfect 4-0 record. The games Swift skipped saw Kelce having 20 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns, an average of 50.3 yards and the Chiefs going 2-1.
"When everyone knows she's at the game the Vegas over/under on my catches goes up and down, the spread goes up and down," Kelce said, as shared by Action Network, declining to say if Swift was attending.
The current line from DraftKings for the Chiefs game in Germany is Kelce having over 7.5 catches, over 79.5 yards. A bet on a touchdown for Kelce pays out at odds of -120. A parlay bet on the over catches, over yards and touchdowns would pay out at +268 if all three hit.
National Basketball Association: There was big NBA news on the week with star player James Harden getting traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Clippers. The trade improved the NBA Championship odds for both teams.
Speaking of NBA, rookie Victor Wembanyama has been lighting up the league on the week with his averages now 20.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. On Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs rookie hit a career-high 38 points and also had 10 rebounds for his second double-double in five NBA games.
The betting odds on Wembanyama at BetMGM, a joint venture between MGM Resorts International MGM and Entain, improved to -350 compared to -145 at the start of the season.
The NBA kicks off its first in-season tournament Friday and could see increased bets with the tournament putting teams in groups that bettors can bet on the winner of each group and the overall tournament.
NCAA Men's Basketball: Bettors will have another league to start betting on with the tip-off of the NCAA Men's Basketball season on Monday, Nov. 6. Twenty-one of the Top 25 ranked teams are in action Monday, including seven of the top 10 ranked teams.
ESPN Bet Launch: PENN Entertainment PENN reported third-quarter financial results earlier in the week and shared an update on its upcoming ESPN Bet platform, launching through a licensing deal with Walt Disney Co DIS.
The company said ESPN Bet will launch on Nov. 14 and will initially be available in 17 states.
The states included for launch are: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
DraftKings Earnings: On Thursday, DraftKings reported third-quarter revenue of $790 million, which was up 57% year-over-year and beat analysts' estimates.
The company saw strong customer engagement and customer engagement and ended the quarter with 2.3 million average monthly unique paying customers, up 40% year-over-year.
DraftKings launched its sportsbook in Kentucky in the third quarter and is planning to launch operations in Maine, Puerto Rico, Vermont and North Carolina in 2024 according to updated guidance.
Guidance for revenue and EBITDA was raised for 2023 and the company shared a first look at 2024 guidance, sending shares higher to close out the week.
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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