Nine online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania present lots of lines, betting markets, boosts, tweets and promotions. The coronavirus pandemic forced the shutdown of major sports on March 12. Since then, books have gotten creative to fill the void.
Each week we take a look around the books to bring you some highlights. Sports seems to be waking from their shutdown-induced slumber. There is more to the books now than just table tennis.
The Match
The PGA Tour doesn’t return until June 11 but you can bet on golf this weekend. Two iconic Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks team up with two legendary golfers for charity on Sunday, May 14 at 3 p.m.
“The Match: Champions for Charity” pairs Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in an 18-hole competition with two different formats.
The front nine will be four ball play. Each of the golfers will only play his ball throughout the hole. The lower of the partners’ scores will count as the team’s score for that hole.
The back nine will be alternate slot play. The parters will share one golf ball per hole and alternate taking shots.
DraftKings golf promo
Considering the foursome represent royalty in their respective sports, it’s only fitting that DraftKings is rolling out the red carpet. It’s a big deal for sports betting, too. Tiger and Phil will be making bets in-play.
The Match Bet and Get promo gives DraftKings users a $20 free live bet when they bet $20 on The Match.
Here’s how to get the free bet at DraftKings:
- Opt-in and place $20+ in bets on The Match
- Get a free $20 live bet to use during the event
- Users can place multiple bets to reach their qualifying total
- Bets require minimum odds of -250 or longer
- Includes live bets and parlays. Excludes free bets, cash out bets, voided bets, and odds boosts
DraftKings betting markets for The Match
Woods/Manning are currently the favorite at DraftKings. The PA online sportsbook is offering a variety of match props and hole specials for The Match.
Match winner
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -186
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +180
Match props:
Leader after 12 holes
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -120
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +174
- Tie: +450
Leader after 12 holes – tie no bet
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -175
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +138
Leader after 15 holes
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -137
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +175
- Tie: +550
Leader after 15 holes – tie no bet
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -186
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +150
Leader after 3 holes
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -155
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +125
- Tie: +225
Leader after 3 holes – tie no bet
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -155
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +125
Leader after 6 holes
- T.Woods/P.Manning: +100
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +175
- Tie: +335
Leader after 6 holes – tie no bet
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -162
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +130
Leader after 9 holes
- T. Woods/P.Manning: -110
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +175
- Tie: +400
Leader after 9 holes – tie no bet
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -175
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +138
Match Props:
Hole in one in the tournament
- Yes: +5,000
Hole 10-18 winner
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -106
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +188
- Tie: +350
Hole 10-18 winner – tie no bet
- T.Woods/P.Manning: -200
- P. Mickelson/T. Brady: +155
Note: Hole special markets listed on DraftKings app
FanDuel promos for The Match
FanDuel has three promos at their online sportsbook for The Match.
- Place a $50 pre tournament wager on The Match and earn $5 bonus in site credit for every birdie/eagle your QB makes.
- Odds boosts: Woods/Manning to win first hole boosted from +270 to +330 (max bet $50)
- Odds boost: Hole 8 – Brady or Manning to be closest to pin boosted from +275 to +340 (max bet $50)
Woods/Manning -210 vs Mickelson/ Brady +172 are the odds at FanDuel for The Match. FanDuel’s biggest liability is Mickelson/Brady overall. 66% of handle and 64% of the bet count in the “Match Betting Market” is on Mickelson/Brady.
The Indianapolis Colts faithful back Manning on any field. Indiana is currently the only state to have a bigger liability on Woods/Manning. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Colorado favor Brady.
Other highlights from FanDuel’s early betting data on The Match
“To Win Hole 1” has seen the most betting interest (by handle):
- Woods/Manning: 55%
- Mickelson/Brady: 16%
- Tie: 29%
For the “first Par 3 on Hole 4 nearest to the pin,” Brady vs Manning has seen higher handle and big Brady betting.
- Brady 92% vs Manning 8%
- Tiger 83% vs Phil 17%
- All four together – Brady 22% – Phil 38% – Manning 10% – Tiger 30%
Woods/Manning are the top selection for customers in the “Lead after 9 Holes” market in terms of handle:
- Woods/Manning: 95%
- Tie: 4%
- Mickelson/Brady: 1%
Largest bets on The Match
- The largest bet currently is $2,000 which was placed in New Jersey on Phil/Tom at odds of +184 with a potential payout of $5,680. A similar bet was placed in PA on the same selection at odds of +180.
- Outside of moneyline, the biggest bet is on Tiger/Peyton to lead after 9 holes. The $1,900 bet at +105 would produce a payout of $3,900.
Bundesliga betting
Bundesliga has proved to be a popular choice with bettors at PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers. The major European soccer league returned to action last weekend and it resulted in four times the typical betting action expected at PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers.
The most popular match was the Sunday primetime game between Bayern Munich and FC Union Berlin, which received 34% of the total weekend Bundesliga handle. Munich (-550) defeated Union Berlin (+1200), 2-0.
Here’s a quick primer on the soccer league:
What is Bundesliga? Germany’s top tier of club soccer. They have the best average attendances in Europe (43,300). However, no fans are in attendance this season.
Are there a lot of 1-0 matches? During the 2018-2019 season, Bundesliga’s 306 matches had a total of 973 goals which averages to 3.18 per game. The rate is greater than the English Premier League (2.82), Italy’s Serie A (2.68), Spain’s La Liga (2.59) and France’s (2.56). No Bundesliga season has ever finished with an average below 2.58.
How can I watch Bundesliga? PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers stream the matches along with some other PA online sportsbooks.
Where can I bet on Bundesliga? Bundesliga betting lines, game props, player props, team futures, and player futures are available at sportsbooks apps in PA.
How do I bet on soccer? If you have more questions, a full guide on soccer wagering can be found here.
KBO betting
ESPN airs six Korean Baseball Organization games a week. It has gained the interest of bettors with the Doosan Bears getting the most handle.
Closing the book
We miss the Phillie Phanatic, even though his appearance has been slightly altered. We don’t have Major League Baseball, yet. And when we do, apparently there will be no mascots. That makes no sense. They are literally wearing the most creative form of PPE!
Instead, we have the NC Dinos mascot. A dinosaur with a pair of jacked forearms. Gym shutdowns might have made our workout routine extinct, but this long-necked dino still finds a way to get his reps in.
