NFL Opening: A Magnet for Sports Betting
The NFL’s opening game solidifies year after year as one of the most attractive events for bettors. Thursday’s matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles is no exception. Betting experts estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars will be wagered on this first match, just in U.S. sportsbooks. This figure does not include bets on daily fantasy sites, prediction markets, and offshore sportsbooks.Feazel also revealed that the company nearly tripled the betting options for the NFL season. The match between Eagles and Cowboys is shaping up to be the biggest betting event of the opening week, and is expected to lead the betting volume throughout the season. In 2024, only the Super Bowl and two conference championship games attracted more money from bettors on DraftKings than last season’s opening game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. The season openers in other major US sports, such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB, do not experience the same level of interest as the first game of the NFL season, betting houses explain, partly due to the sports calendar. The volume of bets decreases significantly during the summer, before increasing in September. Colorado sportsbooks reported receiving $173.1 million in bets on professional football last September. That’s almost as much as was bet on baseball in August and July combined.The excitement of football’s return really ignites bettors.
Joey Feazel, in charge of football odds at Caesars Sportsbook
Ed Salmons, a seasoned Las Vegas bookmaker, recalled the surge in betting interest that occurred when sports returned after being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The accumulated demand for football usually lasts the first two months of the season, before stabilizing after Thanksgiving. The initial success of bettors also influences.When football arrives, bettors have money set aside.
Johnny Avello, director of sports betting at DraftKings
The game between the Eagles and the Cowboys is positioned as the most bet-on event of Week 1.Typically, Weeks 1 and 2 are the weeks with the highest amount of betting of the season.
Ed Salmons, Las Vegas oddsmaker
