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Sports Leagues and Wagering: How Each League has Embraced Sports Betting

by Dave Schwab - 8/18/2023

Sports leagues and wagering Chris Jones Kansas City Chiefs

Below we examine sports leagues and sportsbooks partnerships, sports betting interests and important wagering developments. It is staggering to think that, at one point, some of the major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sided with the US federal government to outlaw sports betting in the country. We have come a long way!

In May of 2018, backed by the US Supreme Court, New Jersey led the way for individual states to legalize sports betting in its borders. At the present time, more than 35 states and the District of Columbia allow sports betting across the country. From the NFL to the UFC, professional and college teams are now partnering with FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM as the top legal sportsbooks in the US market.

Below, we will detail each league and their relationship with sports betting.

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NFL

The top of the list in US sports betting is the National Football League. The NFL is the most popular sport to wager on across the country alongside Canada and the rest of the world. There are 32 teams in the league representing all the major cities in the US. From New York City in the East Coast to Los Angeles out on the West Coast, the NFL has captivated avid sports betting fans with its teams, individual players and the game itself.

The NFL has business relationships with all the major US sportsbooks, including FanDuel and DraftKings as daily sports fantasy leagues, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook as part of MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment and bet365 and Betfred as international sports betting sites.

In 2021, the NFL made an agreement with BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fox Bet, PointBet and WynnBET as Official Sports Betting Partners.

More recently, in July of 2023, the league extended its partnership with Genius Sports as an exclusive provider of official NFL data. The current deal includes the 2028 Super Bowl. This agreement covers real-time game data, official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gens Stats data and the NFL’s official sports betting data feed to media companies and sports betting operators globally.

Sports betting on the NFL could reach $24 billion in the 2023-24 season, according to US sports betting analysists. More than $17 billion could come from straight bets and $4 to $6 billion could come from NFL parlays.

NCAAF

College football is also a major betting sport in the US, but its legality of betting among certain states is called into question. The two legal states at the top of the list for total sports betting handle are New York and New Jersey. However, neither one of these states is legal to betting on in-state college and university teams.

Certain individual NCAA teams have agreements with legal US sportsbooks (Louisiana State University partnered with Caesars Sportsbook), but the NCAA does not have a formal partnership with any US sports betting sites. NCAA President Charlie Baker agrees that college athletics can benefit by the resources of legal US sportsbooks, but there is social costs that come along as well.

NCAAF on Saturdays in late summer until early winter is tied to sports betting as are Sundays in the NFL. Legal US sportsbooks such as FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars promote betting lines and odds for all the major games. From late summer to the National Championship Game in January, college football is ranked as one of the top betting sports leagues in the US.

CFL

The Canadian Football League (CFL) in Canada is the equivalent of the NFL in the US. The rules are somewhat different, but the basic format is the same. There are nine teams in the CFL with two divisions. The East Division has the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Ottawa RedBlacks and Toronto Argonauts. The West Division is made up of the British Columbia Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Some notable differences in the rules are 12 CFL players (not 11) on offense, defense and special teams, three offensive plays (not four) to make a first down to advance the football and 20 yards distance (not 10) in each of the end zones. The CFL regular season has 18 games played over 21 weeks. The CFL postseason is broken down by the division semi-finals, division finals and the CFL Championship, which also is referred as the Grey Cup.

All the legal US sportsbooks take wagers on the CFL. Betting markets include the point spread between the favorite and underdog team, the total line for both teams’ scoring, the money line odds, prop bets and futures odds. There is also live in-play wagering on CFL games. The most popular sportsbooks in the legal US and the province of Ontario, Canada, are FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars.

Genius Sports has a strategic partnership with the CFL while powering the league’s digital infrastructure. This includes “live broadcasts augmentation, play-by-play and scoreboard data collection technology, advanced data tracking tools, coaching analytic products and cross-platform streaming capabilities” as part of the company’s sports collection services.

NBA

The National Basketball Association begins regular-season action in late-October and the postseason playoffs begin in mid-April. There are 30 NBA teams representing cities across the US and Toronto, Canada. The league is separated by the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.  A few of the top teams in the East are the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat. Out West, the top teams are the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA has partnered with 30 US sportsbooks including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook as the top four online sports betting sites with both websites and mobile betting apps. FanDuel and DraftKings became NBA’s co-official sports betting partners. FanDuel is a presenting partner of the weekly NBABet show on NBC TV and DraftKings is a presenting partner of NBABet Stream.

Another strategic partner of the NBA is Genius Sports. The NBA has an extended partnership with Genius Sports to “deepen NBA League Pass innovations with enhanced basketball analytics and develop new Next Gen platform.”

The NBA, as a major professional league, is a pioneer in partnering with legal US sportsbooks as well as an innovator for future endeavors to bet on the games.

NCAAB

College basketball has five major conferences and more than 25 Mid-Major conferences in its Division 1 program across the US. Each March, the postseason conference tournaments set the stage for the NCAA Tournament. There are 68 teams that go to the national tournament and continue down to a National Championship Game between the top two contenders.

From playing a nonconference schedule in November and December, league play in January and February to postseason games in March, the typical D-1 college basketball team plays 35 to 40 games.

Like college football, many legal states for sports betting make it illegal to wager on in-state college basketball games. NCAAB has betting lines and odds for all the major US sportsbooks both retail and online. Las Vegas is a mecca of retail sports betting venues connected to land-based casinos. However, a typical US sportsbook does 80% to 90% of taking bets online with a website and mobile betting app.

College basketball betting grows in size with March Madness and the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament. Online US sportsbooks, including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars, have promotional bonuses and incentives for this time of the year.

WNBA

Professional women’s basketball in the US has the Women’s National Basketball Association as the top league in the country. This year, the WNBA has 12 teams, led by the Las Vegas Aces. From late May to early September, the WNBA holds a 40-game regular season and the postseason playoffs begin in mid-September leading up to the best-of-five WNBA Finals.

As a professional sport, the WNBA has business relationships with legal US sportsbooks that offer wagers on the games. FanDuel is an official sportsbooks of the WNBA as well as continuing to act as the official daily sports fantasy partner for WNBA fantasy games.

The WNBA also has ties with DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars and WynnBET as four other top sportsbooks in the US. Founded in 1996, the WNBA is made up of 12 teams representing 12 cities across the country as professional franchises. The average salary this season of WNBA’s players is $102,000.

Some of the most popular WNBA betting markets are the point spread, the total line, the money line odds, parlays, individual prop bets and futures odds for teams and players.

NHL

The pinnacle of professional ice hockey in North America is the National Hockey League. The NHL has teams across the US and Canada in most major cities. There are players representing various countries all over the world.

The Eastern Conference of the NHL is divided into the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division. This season, some of the top teams in the East are the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maples Leafs, Carolina Panthers and New Jersey Devils. The Western Conference also has two divisions, the Central and the Pacific. Some of top teams in the West are the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Vega Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers.

The NHL has strategic business relationship with legal sportsbooks, including FanDuel and BetMGM as North American sports betting partners. The province of Ontario, Canada, is part of the arrangement with over 30 US states and the District of Columbia for legal sports betting. FanDuel and BetMGM have rights to use official NHL branding in the US and Canada, including visible signage and on-site activation opportunities in the games.

The NHL was the first professional sports league to accept legal sportsbooks in the US and Canada, both retail and online. There are NHL betting bonuses with all the major US online sportsbooks, including deposit promotions, free bets and in-house incentives. Some of the popular betting markets in the NHL are money line and puck line odds, over or under on total team scoring, individual prop bets for players and in-game wagering for all three periods and overtime.

MLB

Major League Baseball is the summertime sport for the betting across the legal US and Canada. With 30 teams in the US and Toronto (Canada), MLB has three divisions in the American League and three divisions in the National League. From coast-to-coast in New York City to Los Angeles, MLB is in full swing from late-March until early November with a 162-game regular season, postseason playoffs and the World Series as the Fall Classic.

MLB betting is legal in retail and online sportsbooks. There are more than 30 US states and the District of Columbia for wagering on MLB games featuring FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars and BetRivers. Canadian sports betting fans can place legal MLB wagers in their provinces including Ontario, which is also commercially licensed with the same five US sportsbook operators.  

FanDuel is the North American official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. This partnership gives FanDuel “national broadcast integrations and expanded marketing rights.” Also, FanDuel provides MLB sports betting fans the ability to watch and wager on MLB games via the mobile betting app.

All the legal US sportsbooks have MLB betting markets, including money line and run line odds, over or under on the total line, individual player prop bets, futures odds and live in-game betting options. FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM have the most popular bets available to wager on MLB games.

UFC Fights

One of the major individual sports is UFC as a Mixed Martial Arts competition. The Official Home of Ultimate Fighting Championship has events, ranking, athletes and news of the league. UFC Fight Night draws sports bettors with legal US sportsbooks such as FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars.

DraftKings is an “Official Sportsbook and Daily Fantasy Partner” of the UFC. The deal will allow for “in-game promotions, activations, in-broadcast odds generations and UFC branding across DraftKings daily fantasy and betting products.”

The UFC has betting lines and odds on most fight cards. There is a favored contender with a negative number under their odds and an underdog contender with a positive number under the same fight. The UFC sports betting fan can also wager on round betting, total rounds, will the fight go the distance and when will the fight end?

UFC is now one of the most popular betting sports in the US. As the leading MMA combat sport, legal UCF mobile betting apps are available online and the best wagering sites offer a complete range of betting options.

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