From Nevada to Delaware, football bettors wagered more than ever and took an epic butt-kicking in the process. Chalk up 2013 to the books.
A record $3.6 billion was wagered on sports at Nevada books in 2013, $1.6 billion of it from football, including a four-month stretch that has proved brutal for bettors.
Nevada sports books finished off 2013 by winning $19.1 million on football in December. On the year, Nevada books won $80.8 million on both college and pro football bets, according to numbers released by Gaming Control on Friday. It’s the second largest win in a year in at least the 25 years. The books won $91.1 million on football in 2006, but this season was almost as costly for bettors.
From September through December, Nevada sports books won $89.4 million on football, a somewhat surprising figure since NFL favorites have covered the spread more than underdogs this season. Heading into the Super Bowl, favorites have covered the spread in roughly 53.4 percent (139-121-5) of games.
Parlay cards have not been kind to bettors during football season, either. In October, November and December, the books are up $12.7 million on parlay cards, a 217 percent increase from the same three months last year.
“We only had one or two weeks that were ugly on the parlay cards,” Jay Rood, MGM VP of Race and Sports, said. “It was tough on the players, and even the wise guys didn’t seem to hit at same rate this year.”
The books also had a big December in basketball, winning $6.8 million on college and NBA wagers, a 189.5 percent increase over last December. On all sports in December, books won $28.3 million.
Bettors on the East Coast didn’t have any better luck. The Delaware Sports Lottery, which takes parlay and futures bets on the NFL, saw betting handle increase by 24 percent and its winnings double this season. Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon are the only four states allowed to offer forms of sports betting. Outside of Nevada, Delaware is the largest regulated sports betting industry in the U.S.
This is the fifth season the Delaware Sports Lottery has taken parlay bets on the NFL only. Last year, the Delaware Sports Lottery held $5.3 million. Heading into the Super Bowl, the lottery is looking at a hold of $11 million, according to lottery directory Vernon Kirk.
“We definitely had a ‘luckier’ year, shall we say,” Kirk said. “I think we had only one losing week and that was the final week of the season. It’s been a fantastic year.”
The spike in the amount wagered can be in large part attributed to the increase in number of brick-and-mortar establishments that offered the sports lottery in 2013. Sixty-nine retailers, places like Buffalo Wild Wings, had the lottery this season compared to 31 last year.
“We got a lot of positive feedback from our retailers, reporting ancillary business from food and beverage,” Kirk said.
The biggest hit this season was $49,000 off a $35 11-team half-point parlay that was sold at Dover Downs, lottery officials said.
The Delaware Sports Lottery also took Super Bowl futures bets. Approximately 10,200 futures tickets were sold this season, with 1,094 still alive.
“We have 602 tickets on the Broncos and 492 tickets on the Seahawks,” said Kirk, adding that the state would win approximately $32,000 more if Seattle beats Denver in Sunday’s Super Bowl than if the Broncos were to win.
Super Bowl Money Odds & Ends
Nevada sports books have won $126.1 million on Super Bowl bets since 1991.
$1.74 billion has been bet on the Super Bowl at Nevada sports books since 1991, when Nevada Gaming began tracking amounts bet and won on NFL title game.
(Source: Nevada Gaming Commission)