Sports Betting Weekly Wrap: ESPN Bet Launches, Parlay Wins Bettor $5.5 Million, Jim Harbaugh's Suspension And More

The sports betting sector is constantly full of news on the latest regulations, big bets and major sports that are currently in season.

The sports-betting weekly wrap summarizes the biggest events from the past week. For more, see last week's weekly wrap.

Here are the latest stories in the world of sports betting.

ESPN Bet Is Live: Perhaps one of the biggest sports betting stories of the year is the launch of ESPN Bet, which comes from PENN Entertainment PENN through a licensing partnership with The Walt Disney Company DIS.

ESPN Bet launched in 17 states and is offering $200 in bonus bets to customers who sign up. The app has topped the iOS charts, and reviews of the platform have been mostly positive.

ESPN Bet is also offering a new play on the popular anytime touchdown bet, giving bettors the ability to bet on a player to not score a touchdown.

McCaffrey Touchdown Streak: Speaking of touchdowns, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey saw his touchdown streak end at 17 games after failing to hit the endzone in the team's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nevertheless, McCaffrey will be a popular bet to bounce back in the team's matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Odds at DraftKings Inc list McCaffrey at -220 to score a touchdown.

Taylor Swift's Impact: As mentioned in last week's wrap, sportsbooks may be adjusting the lines for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, based on whether Taylor Swift will attend his games. Stats show Kelce has averaged more receiving yards during the games Swift attends than the ones she doesn't. The Chiefs also hold a perfect 4-0 record in the games Swift has been at. The Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in a Super Bowl rematch. Swift could be attending the game with her parents, according to reports. Betting odds list Kelce at 7.5 receptions and 76.5 receiving yards, and a touchdown pays out at -120.

Thanksgiving Day Betting: NFL fans will have three games on Thanksgiving Day to bet on and will be treated to a Black Friday game for the first time. Sportsbooks could clean up, with NFL games taking place Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of the upcoming week.

Jim Harbaugh Suspended: University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has agreed to a three-game suspension and will not be on the sidelines for Michigan's upcoming two games, after sitting out last week's victory over Penn State. Despite the ban and Michigan's third-place spot in the College Football Playoff's rankings, Michigan is the current betting favorite to win the 2024 NCAA Football National Championship at odds of +215. Trailing Michigan are Georgia (+255), Alabama (+650), Oregon (+800) and Ohio State (+800).

Big Parlay Hits: A bettor placed a $500,000 wager on a same-game parlay, ahead of the match between the Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals, as shared by the New York Post.

The bet included the Texans winning the game (as underdogs), running back Devin Singletary rushing for over 51.5 yards, Singletary scoring a touchdown and the total score at over 45.5 points. A last second game-winning field goal saw the Texans upset the Bengals 30-27.

The parlay paid out a profit of $5.5 million.

Formula 1: The motorsport league Formula One FWONAFWONK returns to the city of Las Vegas for the first time since the 1980s and could see strong betting given its prominence on the Las Vegas Strip. Max Verstappen, who has won 17 of the 20 F1 races during the current season, is the betting favorite to win the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Verstappen is listed with odds to win the race at -330, ranking ahead of Charles Leclerc (+550), Lando Norris (+1400), Lewis Hamilton (+1600) and Sergio Perez (+2000).

Photo: Shutterstock

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