We are now one sleep away from the start of the NFL season, but the Kansas City Chiefs are already living through a potential nightmare.
Will Travis Kelce’s knee be OK? Will he play Thursday night against the Lions? America’s sportsbooks have doubts; before news broke of Kelce’s wonky knee, the Chiefs were 6.5-point consensus favorites. As of Wednesday morning, they were down to 4.5-point favorites at DraftKings and 5-point favorites at Caesars and BetMGM. FanDuel had them as 5.5-point favorites.
In short: (insert shrugging shoulders emoji) — at least until there’s an update on Kelce’s knee.
In the meantime, and as the clock ticks down to Thursday kickoff, Sports Handle will be monitoring all the NFL betting news as it comes down the pike.
4:30 p.m.: Kupp ruled out for Sunday
As anticipated by most based on injury reporting the last several days, Los Angeles Rams superstar receiver Cooper Kupp will sit out the team’s Week 1 game in Seattle, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter.
Kupp was a no-brainer first-round fantasy pick prior to the first news of the hip injury he was battling, and it’s unclear just how long he’ll be out and how detrimental this will be to fantasy owners or to the Rams’ chances of piling up any wins this season.
For the moment, the line for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks isn’t shifting off the news, since it’s merely confirmation of what most expected. Seattle remains a 5-point or 5.5-point favorite, depending on the sportsbook.
12:15 p.m.: We are not alone
If you’re planning on gambling on the NFL this year, know this: You’re not alone.
According to numbers released this morning by the American Gaming Association, over 73.5 million American adults — that’s 28% of us — plan to put at least some money down on the NFL this season, is some way, shape, or form.
And nearly 50 million Americans — 19% — plan to place a bet either online, at a casino, or with a bookie this year. Of those 50 million, roughly 35 million are planning to do so online and 13.6 million are projected to do so at a brick-and-mortar sportsbook.
Among self-professed NFL fans, 37% expect to place at least one bet this year.
Good thing the NFL isn’t against gambling (anymore).
10:30 a.m.: Same DRIVE parlays?
Simplebet, the in-game microbetting company, is launching some new products ahead of the 2023 NFL season — starting with “Same Drive Parlays.”
Yes, Same Drive Parlays, in which bettors will be able to choose their own “pre-built drive script,” according to a press release. The example given included the Chiefs to run on their first play of the drive, Travis Kelce to record a reception, and Isaiah Pacheco to score a touchdown.
In addition to the Same Drive Parlays, Simplebet — whose partners include Caesars, DraftKings, bet365, and Hard Rock Bet — will be debuting an additional eight microbetting markets in time for Week 1.
They include “Drive Result Granular,” in which bettors can wager on eight different drive results: rushing touchdown, passing touchdown, field goal made, field goal missed, punt, turnover on downs or safety, interception, or fumble.
Other new drive markets: Will a player catch a pass? Will there be a 20-plus yard pass play? Will there be an offensive or defensive penalty?
“We look forward to another successful season providing NFL micro-betting markets to our partners,” said Simplebet CEO Chris Bevilacqua in the release. “With the unveiling of multiple new product additions, namely Same Drive Parlays, for this upcoming season, we strongly believe that this will continue to provide instant gratification to bettors and fans during the 104th season of the NFL. Our team has been working tirelessly this offseason and users will see improvements on uptime for all our markets, truly providing a seamless experience for them.”
9:30 a.m.: Everybody gets a promo!
If it’s Week 1 of the NFL season, it’s also Week 1 for America’s sportsbooks to drop some football promos for existing customers.
The fun starts with Thursday night’s game, where DraftKings is offering a pair of promos, though you can’t use them together.
The first one is a moneyline wager, where if your team is up by at least 7 points — at any point during the game — your bet is marked a winner. (There are max bet amounts for this, and other wagers, that may be different for each user.) At the time of this writing, the Lions are +180 underdogs, the Chiefs -218 favorites. Worth noting, perhaps? The Chiefs have come back from 10 or more points to win no fewer than 16 times with Andy Reid as coach.
DraftKings is also offering a trio of “no sweat” bets for use Thursday night, anytime Sunday, and Monday night (one per slate). This allows bettors to get their money back — in the form of a free bet — should their wager lose.
FanDuel is running a similar promotion, with all customers getting their own “no sweat bet” for use anytime during Week 1. Much like DraftKings, losing bettors will be credited with a free bet.
Caesars has some promos posted, ranging from basic to highly interesting. For Thursday night’s game, the sportsbook is offering a 50% SGP boost on bets that come out to +400 or higher. Basic.
They are also offering up an “End Zone Energy” promo for the Chiefs-Lions game: Bet at least $50 on the point spread, and get a $5 bonus bet for each touchdown the team you’re backing scores. A little less basic.
And as for the highly interesting? For Sunday’s slate — including the night game — Caesars is running a “Bet the Board” promo. Bet $25 or more against the spread on each of the 14 games, and if you win at least 10 of them, you get $150 in bonus bets. Bet $250 on each and win 10, get $1,500 in bonus bets.
Lastly — for now — BetRivers is offering a fun season-long promo: Bet $50 or more on any team to win the Super Bowl, get a $5 bonus bet each week that team records a victory.
Missed Tuesday’s live blog? Do not fear; just click here!
