In 2019, coronavirus pandemic was not in anyone’s lexicon. So when New Jersey allowed betting options on the NFL Draft, it was treated more as a novelty. What a difference a year made.
With the pandemic shutting down most sports betting action and bettors thirsting for something to put their money on, the draft looked like a very viable option. The early results bore that out, according to NJ Online Gambling.
Play Sugarhouse saw an increase in betting handle of four times the 2019 figures, while total bet count was up five-fold. Almost three-quarters of the overall sports betting handle on April 23 at Play Sugarhouse centered on the draft.
A PointsBet Sportsbook official, while not as specific said the handle for the late April event, “absolutely crushed” the 2019 numbers.
At FanDuel, betting before the first picks equaled that of a popular Thursday night NFL game.
“We are delighted with the strong wagering action and how bettors supported many imaginative prop bets,” said Mattias Stetz, chief operating officer for Rush Street Interactive, which operates the Play Sugarhouse sportsbook. “They really prepared well for the draft, and they weren’t afraid to bet heavily on some long shots.”
Wagering on quarterbacks such as Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa drew the bulk of the headlines about position wagers, but the largest bet of the day at Play Sugarhouse was almost $5,000 on CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma being the first wide receiver chosen in the draft.
At PointsBet, the fate of Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts drew bettors, both before the first round and before the second round. Jacob Eason of the University of Washington opened the second day as the favorite to be the “Next Quarterback Drafted” at even money, while bettors could get Hurts at +180 and Jake Fromm of Georgia at +425.
Then the Philadelphia Eagles picked Hurts as the 53rd player drafted so the late money on Hurts did not pan out but earlier Hurts backers profited. It still proved to be an overall win for PointsBet thanks to the late action.
