David Payne Purdum

Facing triple-match point, Carlos Alcaraz was 40/1 to win Sunday's French Open final, down 40-0 and 5-3 in the fourth set. Jannik Sinner was -50,000 on the moneyline at the time at ESPN BET.

Bettor banned for heckling Olympic star Thomas FanDuel has banned a bettor who posted a video of himself heckling Gabby Thomas at a recent track event and claimed "it made my parlay win."

Bettor who heckled Olympic track star banned by sportsbook: www.espn.com/espn/betting...

Both conference championship game lines are growing.

--Eagles up to as high as -6.5 over Commanders. Opened -4.5.

--Chiefs up to -2 over Bills. Opened -1.

EMU hoops games flagged for suspicious betting Betting integrity firms are investigating a Jan. 14, men's college basketball game between Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, after multiple sportsbooks reported unusual wagering activity.

Professional bettors and bookmakers have been tracking a trend of unusual betting action on college basketball first halves dating back to last season and as recently as this week.

www.espn.com/mens-college...

Saquon shuts out TD bettors on breakaway slide Eagles RB Saquon Barkley's late slide in Sunday's playoff win over the Packers stymied bettors who wagered he would score a touchdown in the game.

A heady play by the Eagles' Saquon Barkley proved costly for bettors

www.espn.com/espn/betting...

The line on Notre Dame-Penn State has ticked up to a consensus Irish -2. Notre Dame opened as a 1.5-point favorite.

CFP betting storylines: Public heavily invested in Ohio State David Purdum examines the top betting storylines to know ahead of the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday.

"The only sharp action we've seen was as soon as we put Ohio State -7, one of our sharper players laid seven right off the bat."

College Football Playoff betting storylines: www.espn.com/espn/betting...

Consensus CFP first-round lines:
Indiana at Notre Dame -7.5, 50.5
SMU at Penn St -8.5, 53.5
Clemson at Texas -11, 51.5
Tennessee at Ohio State -7.5, 47

Circa Sports took a $3.1 million money-line bet (-700) on the Eagles on Thursday from a bettor in Kentucky. Bet would win a net of approximately $442,800. It's the largest bet the sportsbook has ever taken and one of the largest ever reported on a regular season game.

Poker pro pleads guilty to bettor fraud scheme A professional poker player pleaded guilty to defrauding bettors by falsely claiming to have inside information on sporting events.

"Zeidman and his partners baited unsuspecting victims with false claims of an edge in sports betting only to feed them lies and pocket millions of dollars."

www.espn.com/espn/betting...

How much did Nevada casinos' win in October?

Blackjack $116.4 million
Craps $41.5 million
Roulette $24.2 million
Baccarat $69.1 million
Sports $28.9 million
Penny slots $194.0 million

[Source: Nevada Gaming Control]

5 teams have won the Super Bowl with a losing record against the spread for the season.

Reg-Season ATS Record for Super Bowl Champs
2012 Ravens 6-10
2022 Chiefs 7-10
1974 Steelers 6-8
1970 Colts 6-8
2021 Rams 8-9

The line on the SEC Championship Game between Texas and Georgia opened as low as pick 'em on Sunday.

The Longhorns are now consensus 2.5-point favorites.

Happy holidays!

A bettor with ESPN BET hit a $2.40 19-leg NCAAF parlay Saturday that paid $270,000, but it couldve been even more.

BYU failed on a 2-point conversion on its final TD in a 30-18 win over Houston, resulting in a push for that leg. Payout would've been more than $500K, per ESPN BET.

Saquon Barkley opened the season as an extreme longshot to win MVP, came down to +6000 entering Week 12, and is now +650 to take home the award, fourth on ESPN BET's odds board.

Since Sunday, Barkley has taken 77% of all bets and 75.5% of handle to win the honor at the sportsbook.

The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board on Tuesday released new sports betting regulations related to boxing, MMA and other combat sports.

Ex-Temple guard in federal point-shaving inquiry Federal authorities are investigating whether former Temple men's basketball player Hysier Miller bet on his own games and manipulated the outcome of Owls games he played in, according to multiple sou...

Feds investigating ex-Temple guard for alleged point-shaving. From @davidpurdum.bsky.social and Pete Thamel: www.espn.com/mens-college...

$858,148,994 was bet with Pennsylvania sportsbooks in October. The sportsbooks won a net $27.4 million during the month, a 43.2% decrease from October 2023.

How much are we betting sports? Results from a YouGov report released today.

Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 -- The Detroit Lions are the consensus favorites to win the Super Bowl.

I wonder if the huge spread is keeping handle low enough that even tho it's that lopsided, maybe it's still not a huge decision in the grand scheme of things. I'm sure if it the risk gets big enough, the books will move the number to attract some Jags bets.

The Lions are 13.5-point favorites over the Jaguars today. It's the largest point spread of the NFL season so far, and the game is set to be one of the most-lopsided betting games of the season. BetMGM reported this morning that over 90% of the money wagered on the point spread was on the Lions.

The 49ers are favored in their 36 consecutive regular-season game today against the Seahawks. That's third-longest such streak in the Super Bowl era, according to ESPN Research.

The 2016-2020 Patriots own the longest streak at 64.

A bettor with Caesars Sportsbook in Michigan placed a $1 million bet on Jake Paul to defeat Mike Tyson in Friday's fight at -220 odds. It's the largest reported bet yet on the fight.

Las Vegas bookmaker on the betting interest on Mike Tyson-Jake Paul: "I'm shocked at how much this fight is being bet. It almost feels like a joke, but it's not. There's some serious money on this thing."

As expected, the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight is setting up to be the most heavily-bet boxing match in years at sportsbooks.

DraftKings says it's already taken two $500,000 bets on Paul, but the overwhelming bulk of the action is on the 58-year-old underdog Tyson.

Today is the 10-year anniversary of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's op-ed in the New York Times calling for a fresh approach to the regulation of sports betting.

Four years after the op-ed, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal statute and legal betting began spreading around the nation.