 Final
Four Betting:
Sportsbooks Stand to
Lose the Most With
North Carolina WinMemphis vs. UCLA has revealed mostly even action across the board in terms of this weekend's Final Four Betting. Not so with Kansas vs. The University of North Carolina where most of the bets have gone the Tarheels way. By Saturday morning, nearly 80 percent of the betting action was on the North Carolina spread at Super Book. That has prompted the online gambling company to move its line from North Carolina -3 to -3 1/2 in a feeble attempt to get more action on Kansas. Money line action on North Carolina to win outright is also more than 75 percent. A line of -4 is not entirely out of the question. For Kansas Jayhawks fans, the +4 is already being offered up by Bodog Life. In fact, this is the only reputable online sportsbook offering the +4 line at press time. Super Book could also see losses on the OVER in the Memphis/UCLA game should the two teams score more than 134 points total. That's because 90 percent of the total action on this game was on the OVER. Nevertheless, all the online gambling sites will be taking in tons of Final Four betting action this weekend. Even if the public has the edge with North Carolina covering the spread and the OVER with Memphis vs. UCLA, the difference for online gambling websites will be a small profit and tons of volume vs. a small loss and tons of profit. Inevitably, this weekend is all about bringing in fresh blood and building a solid customer base. March Madness generates big betting. The dollars legally wagered on college and pro basketball in Nevada more than doubled to $228 million in March 2007 from $107 million the previous month, according to Frank Streshley, an analyst with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The online sports betting sites tend not to publish their numbers but with a few dozen out there, it can easily be surmised that overall more than 5 times that number will be bet. Some of the wagers will also be coming from Canada, Europe and Asia where the publicly traded online betting firms that do not accept US customers will also be offering bets on the Final Four. The most amount of betting action on the Final Four will no doubt come from up north, Canada, where companies like Sportingbet now have a stronghold on the market. In many cases, these customers have the advantage since action may not necessarily be reflective of public sentiment back in the States. Memphis vs. UCLA is the perfect example. It is at Sportingbet where you will find one of the few lines on Memphis at -1 1/2. Here they can win by 2 points and the bet would be declared a winner. Everywhere else the 2 point win would be considered either a "push" (no money won or lost) or a loss (for the sports bettor). ---- Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com Originally published April 5, 2008 11:34 am EST
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