The 27th sports equinox was a holiday for sportsbooks.
With the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL all playing on the same day, bettors had much more to bet on than usual. So how’d they do?
The public went 2-3 on Thursday's five most bet games tracked in the Action Network App.
Thursday's 5 Most Bet Games
| Bet | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Yankees ML vs. Astros | X | Astros 3-2 |
| Virginia +3.5 vs. Georgia Tech | ✓ | Virginia 16-9 |
| Saints +2.5 vs. Cardinals | X | Cardinals 42-34 |
| Clippers -5.5 vs. Lakers | ✓ | Clippers 103-97 |
| Predators ML vs. Blue Jackets | X | Blue Jackets 5-3 |
PointsBet in particular took on more parlay betting than usual.
"Bettors were eager to have action on as many sports as possible while putting less on the line," said Mike Korn, a sports analyst at PointsBet.
MLB, meanwhile, suffered the most from all other action.
Despite being the only sport in postseason play, it ranked fourth behind the other three major sports in betting volume, via the Action App.
“We likely would have seen more action on MLB if there wasn’t NFL and NBA games,” said Seamus Magee, a sports trader at BetMGM.
“With football and basketball we typically see more live action on those games in general,” Korn said.“Throughout NFL and NBA games people bet more versus baseball."
Football, to no surprise, was king across the board.
Despite a matchup between two teams with losing records, Thursday Night Football attracted more action than any other sport across the board.
The Virginia vs. Georgia Tech college football game on ESPN also saw more betting than any single NHL game at PointsBet.
A lot of work goes into setting lines on multiple sports at the same time. Sport traders will be back at it Sunday and Monday for two more sports equinoxes.
“This was a day we had circled on our calendar for a little bit so we were proactive making sure we had all hands on decks,” Korn said.
“It's a bigger variety of markets, which can make things tougher on non-core markets – the stuff outside of spreads, moneylines and totals.”
