Buffalo, NY (WBEN) With the legalization and expansion of betting options leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, the outcome of the game is less and less about your fan favorite team and more and more about where the money is 'riding'.
And the winner and the loser of the Super Bowl? While that will be bog news, the payout will come in the form of wagers on anything related to the on-field play and not just the outcome of the game.
Stephen Andress of Thelines.com tells WBEN the Super Bowl is the one game during the calendar year that has more prop bets available than any other NFL game during the season. "Basically, when we say a prop bet, we mean anything that's different than just betting on the winner of the game, or how many points are going to be scored in the game. So mostly statistical things, how many passing yards is Joe burrow or Matthew Stafford going to have? And is it going to be over under that number? rushing yards receiving yards touchdowns? Will a player score a touchdown in the game?" explains Andress.
To say some of the bets related to the Super Bowl are, well, a bit odd, is and understatement, says Andress.
"One of the more popular ones is what the Gatorade color that gets dumped on the winning coach will be in the game, and you try and choose which color and there's even an option for clear. And if it just so happens that there is no Gatorade back on the winning head coach like there was with Bill Belichick a couple of years ago, then you just get your money back on the bet," says Andress.
Some bets are off limits, legally speaking, in the US. "Things like the halftime show and the performers or the betting on how long the national anthem will be. These are things that have been heard about over the years, but are mostly from illegal offshore sports books," Andress says.
But Andress says there's some wiggle room when it comes to betting on the anthem. "You can't direct that directly on how long the national anthem will last, but I do know that some of the books like DraftKings and FanDuel will tie it in to another outcome from the Super Bowl, for example. I think one of the prop bets that are out there available with the national anthem right now is which will last longer the national anthem or the shortest scoring drive in the Superbowl?" notes Andress.
There's some logic as to why New York isn't comfortable with a straight bet on halftime or the anthem. "There can be some insider information on something like the National Anthem, there are rehearsals that go on behind the scenes and if something were to be leaked, then you're talking about the integrity of that bet. And with legal US markets, a lot of times these states will shy away from something like that," explains Andress.
Andress anticipates a record number of wagers on the Super Bowl this year, especially with New York allowing mobile sports betting this year.
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