The biggest public Super Bowl bet so far in 2023 is on the weirdest long-shot
With sports betting now legal and operational in over 30 U.S. states, we’ve come to expect some hometown biases when it comes to wagers. It’s no surprise, for example, that Michigan bettors have come out in full force this offseason to back their beloved Detroit Lions to win over 9.5 games, win the NFC North and even win the Super Bowl. At least the Lions are a team that went 8-2 down the stretch last season and seems to be ascending.
But betting big on the Las Vegas Raiders to win the Super Bowl?
One bettor in Nevada has done exactly that, wagering $20,000 on the Raiders to win this year’s Super Bowl at 40-1 odds at Caesars Sportsbook. The bet would win $800,000 if the Raiders win their first Super Bowl since 1981.
It’s the biggest bet in terms of liability at U.S. sportsbooks that I’ve heard so far this offseason, and an odd one because many respected bettors are hammering the Raiders’ UNDER (opened at 7.5, now at 6.5). Perhaps this bettor was playing a hunch that disgruntled QB Aaron Rodgers would be traded to Las Vegas, one of the potential destinations that had been floated.
Either way, it seems like an outlier of a bet – even from a potential Raiders fan.
“The Raiders’ win total is one that stands out to me,” Dylan Sullivan, risk manager at Circa Sports told me. “They’ve dropped a full win at this point. Public and sharps both like them to go under. One subscription service released them under as well a few days ago.”
At BetMGM, a whopping 86% of bets and 95% of handle were on the Raiders’ UNDER, which is currently at 6.5 with -145 juice on the UNDER.
Las Vegas currently sits at 45-1 to win the Super Bowl at Caesars.
Star running back Josh Jacobs doesn’t want to play on a franchise tag, new QB Jimmy Garoppolo came into training camp recovering from a foot injury and the Vegas defense was among the league’s worst last season.
It seems like a big roll of the dice that the Raiders will win the Super Bowl – let alone make the playoffs — but that’s why they call it gambling.
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