Espn Sports Betting
A local TV reporter in Florida on Friday disrupted the international betting market on one of the most popular Super Bowl propositions with a 2-minute and 16-second video he posted on Twitter.
Daily Wager ESPN sports betting analyst Doug Kezirian is joined by sports betting experts as well as ESPN analysts and reporters for discussion on how the day's sports news affects betting. See full list on espn.com.
Zach Maskavich, a multimedia journalist for Orlando's WESH Channel 2, was working out of his car in the parking lot of Hillsborough Community College across from Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium, site of Super Bowl LV, when he heard the rehearsal for the national anthem begin.
This is the first Super Bowl that Maskavich, 31, has covered, and all week his buddies had been asking him to keep an eye and ear out for inside information on everything from what color of Gatorade the teams were using, to tidbits about the pregame and halftime musical performances. So when artists Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church started their rehearsal performance of the national anthem, Maskavich whipped out his phone and made of video of himself timing how long the rendition would take.
Betting on the length of the national anthem at the Super Bowl has long been one of the most popular novelty prop bets at international sportsbooks. Bettors and oddsmakers scour the internet looking for past performances for any clues. State regulators don't allow U.S. sportsbooks to offer the bet because of fears of corruption, but it hasn't stopped bettors -- domestic and abroad -- from taking a stab at how long the national anthem will last each year.
The over/under on Sullivan and Church's duet was sitting around two minutes early Friday, but that would change quickly. Maskavich tweeted his video at 6:30 p.m. ET, showing the rehearsal had lasted 2 minutes and 16 seconds. In Australia, bookmaker PointsBet reported a flurry of action on the over showing up shortly after the video was posted, causing them to halt betting on the prop.
'I just thought it was pretty funny,' Maskavich told ESPN on Saturday. 'Some of the responses have been hilarious; some people are really mad.'
ESPN already airs a show focusing on sports betting, the Daily Wager. ESPN’s Vice President for Business Development Mike Morrison said: “Working with a category leader like Caesars Entertainment will help us serve these highly engaged, diverse sports fans with the best and most relevant content possible. The game is one of national interest and will be aired across America on ESPN Read more NCAAF Betting Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Alabama Crimson Tide CFP Title Game 2021/01/11 - 8:00pm. Visit ESPN to view NFL odds, point spreads and moneylines from this week's games.
Multiple sportsbooks reported taking a rush money on the over hours before Maskavich posted his video. Pinnacle Sports, an online sportsbook based in Curacao, had the over/under set at 1:58, with -110 odds to bet either side. Around 3:30 p.m., Pinnacle started receiving enough bets on the over to drive the price up to -1,500, before the sportsbook stopped betting.
Betonline.ag, a Panama-based online sportsbook, said it received roughly two dozen $250 limit bets on the over during three-minute stretch around 3 p.m. Friday.
'Just about every year there is a leak on the national anthem, and we see a wave of one-sided action a few days before the game,' Dave Mason, Betonline's brand manager, told ESPN on Saturday. 'Yesterday that wave of action was more suspicious than previous years. Within a few seconds we took about two dozen max bets from sharper accounts. They kept betting over from 2:00 up to 2:10. At that point we knew there was some very strong intel out there somewhere, so we decided to take the odds down.'
Living in Florida with no legal sportsbook options, Maskavich said he's not much of a gambler, but he knew people were interested in the national anthem.
'I had a feeling it was going to gain some traction, leading up to the Super Bowl, and people liking prop bets,' Maskavich said on Saturday morning. 'But I didn't think it was going to blow up like it did. People are reaching out to me, wondering if Vegas paid me to do it, and all these other crazy shenanigans.'
This isn't the first time Maskavich has gone viral. In 2018, while covering a high school game, a video of him getting hit with a football made it onto to SportsCenter's 'Not Top 10.' Still, he has been taken back by the responses he received on Twitter for his national anthem post. Some called him a 'man of the people' for relaying the information; others were irate because they believe that he spoiled the action and caused books to halt betting. One person said they would not rest until he was fired.
Maskavich's favorite responses, though, referenced his unfortunate collision with the football. 'Quarterback should've thrown it harder,' wrote one responder who retweeted the video.
US broadcaster also signs multi-year Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings deals.- ESPN Sports Betting channel includes ESPN2’s Daily Wager and SportCenter
- William Hill sports betting apps included in ESPN's Caesar Entertainment deal
- New online show Bet available live and on-demand via ESPN app and social feeds
US broadcast giant ESPN has launched a YouTube channel dedicated to sports wagering as part of a digital expansion of its betting-related content portfolio.
The new ESPN Sports Betting channel will contain segments from the network’s linear sports betting news show Daily Wager, which usually airs on ESPN2. Other content, including coverage from the network’s SportCenter show, will also be included on the channel.
Meanwhile, ESPN also plans to debut a new sports betting show called Bet across all its digital platforms. Co-hosted by Joe Fortenbaugh and Tyler Fulghum, the show will be streamed three times a week and is also available to watch on-demand.
The show’s first production will stream ahead of ESPN’s Monday Night Football (MNF) doubleheader. While times may vary due to events, subsequent Monday shows will go live at the usual time of 6.30pm ET, while streams on Wednesday and Thursday have been billed for 7.30pm ET.
Coverage will be available via the ESPN app and social feeds, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
- NBA legend Michael Jordan takes DraftKings equity stake
“Bet will allow us to connect with fans and drive the conversation in a way that leverages what we do best on social and digital platforms,” said Mike Foss, ESPN’s senior director for digital and social content.
Espn Sports Betting Analyst
“We have seen tremendous success and growth in our slate of digital shows in 2020. Bet will showcase an amazing new studio in The LINQ [Las Vegas] and we are tremendously excited about delivering a new live and interactive show core to our audience expansion priority.”
ESPN has also signed two multi-year partnerships with Caesar Entertainment and DraftKings. Under the terms of each deal, Caesars will become ESPN's exclusive odds provider, while betting operator DraftKings becomes the sports network's exclusive daily fantasy sports provider.
Espn Sports Betting Article
Both parties will also become co-exclusive sportsbook link-out providers to ESPN. As part of its deal with Caesars, US sportsbook William Hill's betting apps will also appear on ESPN's digital assets, including the ESPN web and mobile platforms and the ESPN fantasy app.
“Our new agreements with Caesars and DraftKings collectively represent the next significant milestone for ESPN to diversify our exposure and deepen our commitment in the sports betting space,” said Mike Morrison, ESPN's vice president of business development and innovation.
“We began growing the experience through content, followed by odds utilising William Hill’s sports betting data and a new state-of-the-art studio facility in Las Vegas through our deal with Caesars, and now with the addition of DraftKings, we are bringing together the sports media leader with two of the top brands and best products in the segment.”
William Hill was recently named the exclusive sports betting operator for Caesars Entertainment, following the casino's merger with Eldorado Resorts in July.
William Hill's chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson added: 'ESPN is one of the pre-eminent brands in sports. Tens of millions of fans will now have a direct link to our sports betting apps and odds. Giving ESPN users this access will accelerate our leadership as we continue to expand in the US.'
The move comes amid a flurry of sports betting deals in the US, including a five-year partnership between Comcast-owned media group NBC Sports and Australian sportsbook PointsBet. That deal, reportedly worth in the region of US$500 million, was followed by a separate five-year agreement signed between PointsBet with the University of Colorado, marking the first gambling partnership in US college sports.
Espn Sports Betting Broadcast Wizards
Meanwhile, a multi-year sports betting deal was also recently struck by the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball (MLB) outfit and DraftKings, which has also recently signed on former National Basketball Association (NBA) icon Michael Jordon as a special advisor.
Ongoing growth in US sports betting comes after the US Supreme Court ruled in May 2018 that individual states would be given power to legalise sportsbooks.
Eighteen states have since adopted new betting laws that have enabled leagues and franchises to cash in on betting sponsors. According to Axios, four further bills have been passed in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, while bills in nine other states are still active.