As Major League Baseball assumes the role of leading DraftKings Sportsbook through the summer and into the start of the NFL and college football betting seasons, NJ sports bettors are embracing hot local teams and the popular same game parlay.
Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, tells PlayNJ readers that New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York sports bettors are alike in one major MLB betting respect.
And that is they like the same five teams. Of course, the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and New York Mets make the list.
Garden State gamblers also join the rest of the nation in feasting upon the popular same game parlay, which DraftKings unveiled for its first full season this year.
No surprise, DraftKings bettors backing Yankees
Avello said bettors are showing a similar pattern on which teams they are backing.
However, Avelllo notes DraftKings is seeing the team betting action “is different in every market.”
“They all like the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers as the top five teams. They have been consistent with those five clubs as their top choices overall.
However, as expected, Avello said it changes a little in every state.
“In New Jersey, the No. 1 team they bet right now is the Yankees, followed by the Mets, Dodgers, Phillies and Astros.
“In Pennsylvania, it’s Phillies, Dodgers, Yankees, Astros and Mets.”
It helps that all three teams are over.500 and have played strong ball. The Yankees entered the week searing at an off-the-charts 50-17-mark, a pace set to eclipse 120 games.
Although the position of favored teams changes, NJ sports bettors are consistently backing playoff contenders.
DraftKings seeing same game parlays are a home run
It has taken off like wildfire, as bettors massage the menu as if it were food choices at a fine Atlantic City casino restaurant.
“We are doing a big write with this,” Avello noted.
“We have paid out a tremendous amount on these parlays. People don’t want to put up a lot to win a lot and they are finding a perfect place to do it. They are able to put up $100 or less and make a score.”
Avello shared the details of one recent $100 SGP:
- Los Angeles Angels +1.5 runs
- Millville’s own Mike Trout to hit a homer
- Shohei Ohtani to get a hit and
- Pete Alonso (Mets) and Jared Walsh to hit safely
“He bets $100 and wins 70 grand,” Avello said. “It seems like every night we are paying out one of these bets.
“I think the bettors love this because we say ‘ok, we put up the menu, now you can add what you think is going to happen.’ Bettors change the lines and take each part of the bet into the area where they think they have found an edge and it puts them in control.”
Avello believes the mobile age is breeding a new type of bettor. Some wagering amounts and attempted win totals initially look like the bets of the “sharp” bettors or the old “wise-guys” as they were known in Las Vegas.
Avello explains why younger bettors like SGP
Avello said the sharps are staying away from the same game parlays.
He said, “They are too hard to bet, you can’t find an edge.”
“What we’re seeing instead is a younger generation of gamblers who will try to string a few good calls together.
“You can see why it’s fun for people. Say you look at the weather and you see there are no problems with rain. You figure the ball might be flying out of some places and you take a few home-run props together.”
And here’s the best part: “If you hit that, it’s big.”
Longshots don’t have to be pipe dreams, he says. If the bettor hasn’t made a huge investment, it’s merely a swipe at glory.
The impact of NJ mobile sports betting
Avello noted in the past you would see bettors take a two-to-three-team parlay getting +600 odds for maybe $10.
“But now you can take the same $10 and get a chance for $30,000? It’s worth taking a shot, at least you know there is a jackpot at the end of that rainbow,” Avello said.
“When you see people hitting it every night, it could be your turn. This is not some random generator picking out the ball. This is you.”
Mobile betting has also made many bettors more prepared. Their wins may involve some good breaks, but there is far less luck involved.
“People have more time to line up their bets now,” he said. “If you are at the brick-and-mortar book and you’re at the counter, you may not know who you like. There’s always somebody behind you and there’s a rush.
“With mobile, you can look it over for an hour, you can be working, eat dinner and then look at it. There is time to put it together.
“That makes a difference.”
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