The NFL continues to reign supreme among Proline bettors.
The Dallas Cowboys' 33-13 home win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night was the top-wagered game of the week, according to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. Once again, NFL games were the top-five events as the others were New England-Pittsburgh, Green Bay-New York Giants, Detroit-Chicago and Tennessee-Miami.
On Sunday night, Dallas was favoured and won but only 43 per cent of bettors picked the Cowboys on the moneyline. However, 60 per cent correctly picked the winners to cover and with both teams boasting high-powered offences, only 31 per cent selected the eventual under.
Earlier on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills held on for a 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Fifty-five per cent correctly had the Bills on the moneyline while 54 per cent had them with the spread.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was the most popular choice as an anytime TD scorer, and he came through. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce was the most popular Chief on this bet, but didn't find the end zone.
The NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament concluded Saturday night with the Los Angeles Lakers downing the Indiana Pacers 123-109. A whopping 65 per cent of bettors correctly selected Los Angeles on the moneyline but only 24 per cent picked the Lakers to cover the 5.5-point spread.
The most popular picks to win the tournament before it began were the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.
Baseball is in its off-season but it made huge headlines last week with Shohei Ohtani signing a 10-year, US$700-million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Toronto Blue Jays were in the running for Ohtani and before his signing with L.A., the prospect of Ohtani coming north improved Toronto's World Series odds from plus-1200 to plus-650.
Even with Ohtani joining the Dodgers, Toronto's odds moved slightly to plus-700. Meanwhile, the addition of Ohtani has moved Los Angeles's odds from plus-700 to plus-550.
A $2 bet turned into a $1,590 windfall for a Proline digital customer after a successful 10-leg pick (five NBA, five NFL). A retail player won $843 with an interesting $2 wager on the first goal being scored between the 16th and 20th minutes in three separate NHL games, each at 7.50 odds.
Another retail bettor won $9,818 on a $20, eight-leg bet involving NFL and NHL contests. But a digital customer had a whopping $11,813 return from a $30, nine-leg wager on NFL and NHL games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.
The Canadian Press
