TORONTO — The overwhelming favourite among Proline Plus customers is the NCAA men's basketball champion.
Fourth-seeded UConn capped a wild March Madness by downing fifth-seeded San Diego State 76-59 on Monday night to capture the NCAA title. According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., a whopping 82 per cent of Proline bettors picked the Huskies to win their fifth championship heading into the contest.
The Huskies advanced to the final with a 72-59 Final Four victory Saturday over Miami.
After starting their season with a 10-9 win over the Cardinals, the Toronto Blue Jays lost the next two in St. Louis, including a 9-4 decision Sunday. Just eight per cent of Proline customers picked the Cardinals to win Sunday's game but 93 per cent correctly picked the over.
Not surprisingly, as far as MLB Futures go, the Jays feature prominently with Ontario bettors. For example:
- Seventy-eight per cent have picked the Blue Jays to win the AL East;
- Seventy-two per cent have picked Toronto to win the American League;
- Fifty-one per cent have picked the Blue Jays to win the World Series;
- Forty per cent have selected Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to be named the American League MVP.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-0 on Saturday night. That was good news for the 60 per cent of Proline customers who picked the Leafs to win but only 12 per cent had the total under 6.5 goals.
On Sunday, Toronto lost 5-2 to the Detroit Red Wings. Just 25 per cent of customers picked the Wings to win while 19 per cent had Detroit +1.5 goals.
The Toronto Raptors won two-of-three games last week, including a 128-108 victory Sunday over the Charlotte Hornets. That victory clinched Toronto a berth in the NBA's play-in tournament.
Seventy-two per cent of bettors had Toronto beating Charlotte but only 28 per cent had the Raptors -13.5 points
A Proline retail bettor turned a $1 wager into a $464.60 return on a five-team all-draw soccer parlay. Another wagered $5 on a three-team Serie A soccer parlay that paid $4,696.30.
However, a Proline Plus player bet $3,941.67 on a nine-game parlay that returned a whopping $32,261.61. That included NBA wins by Chicago, Boston, Houston, Memphis, Sacramento, Golden State, Phoenix and Dallas as well as a Winnipeg Jets NHL victory.
The Toronto-Florida Panthers NHL game was the top event of the week. Rounding out the top five, in order, were: Miami-Connecticut; Toronto versus Ottawa Senators; Detroit versus Toronto; and Florida Atlantic-San Diego State.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2023.
The Canadian Press
