The Betting Scene: Be Careful with Enormous Point Spreads



Betting large point spreads is often a losing proposition and with two NFL spreads in excess of three touchdowns, bettors are urged to pump the brakes.

The incessant talk of point spreads involving every NFL and NCAA game continues to flood the airwaves and social media non-stop and this week the talk has been all about the two 21+ NFL point spreads this Sunday. Even our own Glenn Greene tackled the subject. But bettors must be wary of games that are a) overhyped and b) feature giant point spreads.

The lines for both the Dolphins/Cowboys and Patriots/Jets have shot up this week. The Cowboys opened as a 20.5-point favorite and a recent Tweet from BetOnline shows that the number is now at -23. The Patriots actually opened as a 17.5-point favorite, but with Luke Falk at the helm of the Jets and over 80% of the public backing New England, the number has also crossed the 22 point threshold. 

betting large odds It's well known that the betting public prefers to bet on favorites. Add to that the public loves to bet on the Patriots and Cowboys, both teams get some of the most action every week. In speaking with one of the top online operators about these games it came to light that the public also doesn't like to bet on bad teams and the #TankforTua Dolphins certainly fit that bill. 

So it's really a perfect point spread storm as is evidenced by the number of bets and money wagered on these two enormous favorites. According to SportsInsights.com, the Cowboys minus the points are taking three out of every 4 bets and the numbers are similar for the Patriots.

Bettor Beware

In the history of the NFL there have been just 35 games where the points spread has been three touchdowns or more. Of those 35 games, the favorite is 35-0, but against the spread . . . a dismal 11-22-2!

So we urge bettors to tread lightly on the two huge favorites. And for those thinking of adding the teams on the moneyline to a parlay, it really doesn't help the payout very much, if you can even find a ML on these games at most of the top online sportsbooks. The Patriots at -5000 will only get you an extra $7 payout on a three team vs. a 2-team parlay wagered at $100.

Agents and Accountability

We got our first complaint of this new football season on an agent using a price-per-head site online to book the bets for his business. The website, Allwagers247.com, is obviously just a site used by land-based bookies so that their players can have a place online to make wagers. The website has the tell tale signs that is is not a post-up sportsbook - no contact info, generic rules and no cashier information. And thus, the domain holder for Allwagers247 is not the owner. It is controlled and operated by the company that provides the back-end services for a local bookmaker, or a guy on Twitter.

In these cases there is almost nothing that we can do to help a player getting stiffed or slow paid by an agent. The fact that the website is offshore, does give us a way to contact the service provider and potentially shut down the agent's account, but the dollars lie with the agent, not the service provider. 

Players are urged to only bet with a reputable online sportsbook, or an agent that they personally know. Playing with an unknown agent, handle on Twitter or with a site from an email offer, is a recipe for disaster. Check with us here at OSGA for the validity of a gambling website before signing up.

Check back every week for The Betting Scene as we will highlight new items of interest in the world of online sports betting. 


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