2024 NFL season saw unexpected dominance of betting favorites, leading to challenges for sportsbooks. The Detroit Lions emerged as a popular betting choice, alongside the perennial favorite Kansas City Chiefs. Global betting on the NFL continued to grow, with bet365 highlighting significant increases in wagers from Europe and South America.
Several sportsbooks shared 2024 insights with Covers, detailing what was popular among bettors and why the NFL ’s regular season turned out the way it did. The public won at an unprecedented rate as betting favorites dominated much of the 18-week slate, taking a toll on sportsbooks and limiting expected revenue in a way operators had never experienced before.
FanDuel said in its 2024 third-quarter release, which covered a multi-week successful run by NFL favorites, that “October is not going to look great for anybody relative to what they were expecting.” While sportsbooks did have some operator-favorable results in November and December, DraftKings reported that favorites in the NFL went 221-111 on the moneyline and 169-157-6 against the spread. Fanatics Sportsbook told Covers that playoff-caliber teams quickly separating themselves led to customer-friendly results. “Teams who underperformed, such as the 49ers, Cowboys, and Jets, were confidently identified by customers pretty quickly after the season began,” a Fanatics spokesperson said. “And teams like the Vikings, Commanders, and Broncos, all of whom exceeded expectations, showed their form by midseason and haven't faltered significantly.” A new popular team emerged during the season as well. While the Kansas City Chiefs are long known for getting public backing and winning at a high rate, the Detroit Lions matched them with a 15-2 overall record. However, the Chiefs went 8-9 against the spread while the Lions went 12-5 and became one of the most-bet teams at various sportsbooks during the regular season.Several sportsbooks shared 2024 insights with Covers, detailing what was popular among bettors and why the NFL’s regular season turned out the way it did. Expansion into new markets like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, as well as the first full NFL season of operations in Louisiana, Iowa, and Kentucky spurred solid numbers for the online operator. bet365 reported large increases in betting slips with player-prop markets dominating the betting landscape. The sportsbook also said live and parlay betting was up because of the platform’s U.S. expansion. Offering a wide range of player props and boosts, bet365 was able to overcome the onslaught of successful favorites to produce a higher hold on pre-game wagers than the previous year. bet365 reported that the Week 1 opener on Thursday night between the Ravens and Chiefs was the most-bet game of the regular season. A Week 2 matchup between Buffalo and Miami was No. 2, followed by Bengals-Ravens in Week 10, Cowboys-Giants in Week 4, and Saints-Chiefs in Week 5. All of those matchups were standalone games on either Thursday or Monday. Behind a resurgence at the running back position, anytime touchdown wagers were big at bet365, which reported major growth in those markets across North America and globally to the degree that they were more popular than moneyline parlays at times. The operator noted that Derrick Henry, Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, James Cook, and Kyren Williams were some of the most-bet players in those touchdown markets. The U.K.-based sports betting operator has seen the NFL grow globally in recent years, a trend that continued in 2024 with the league’s commitment to playing games in Europe and South America. Some regions saw a 60% increase in NFL wagers. “Although the NFL has been popular for many years in Europe, it has grown to a much broader base for betting action,” bet365 trading leader Aron Wattleworth said. “As the NFL International games have been going for some time (and they continue to add more year-over-year), this growth over the last 2-3 decades has been more generational, as well as regional. “The expansion of betting in more countries around the globe naturally brings more action. Plus the popularity of the NFL as a sport itself has seen a huge global growth through its International initiatives that continue to expand and bring more exposure to new regions/fans.”BetMGM was no exception and reported the Detroit Lions were a popular team to bet on in this NFL season. Four of the operator’s most-bet games included the NFC North winner. The regular-season finale against the Vikings was No. 1, and it was for the division, a playoff bye, and home-field advantage. A late-season matchup on Monday Night Football against the 49ers was the second most-bet game of the season. The Chiefs-Ravens opener was third, followed by Lions-Texans in Week 10 and Packers-Lions in Week 14. Live betting accounted for 30% of NFL regular-season wagering, and like bet365, BetMGM reported “growth in touchdown betting markets.”
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