Bettor loses $485,410 on Notre Dame in College Football Playoff title game
One bettor at Betr in Ohio had a rough Monday night
The College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night was a tale of two games, and highlights why sports betting has taken off like a rocket ship in the last few years after legalization in the United States.
Ohio State (-8.5) was a big favorite against Notre Dame going into the game, but betting was fairly split on the spread at sportsbooks and there was a lot of money on the Fighting Irish to win outright.
Notre Dame was impressive on its opening drive — marching down the field for a touchdown a 7-0 lead — but halfway through the third quarter Ohio State was winning 31-7. Bettors who had wagered on the Buckeyes to cover (or had Ohio State in a teaser or ML parlay like this author) were probably beginning to count their money — both on account of the score and how lopsided the game had looked since Notre Dame’s opening drive.
One bettor in Ohio was on the opposite side: He had placed a $485,410 wager on Notre Dame +8.5 pregame at the sportsbook Betr and his bet looked to be dead. But Notre Dame came all the way back, with two touchdowns and multiple two-point conversions to make it 31-23 and move back into a position of covering the spread … before giving up a 56-yard pass on third-and-11 from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith. Unfortunately for the bettor (and other Notre Dame spread backers), there was just enough time for Ohio State to run three plays and kick a short 33-yard field goal to give the Buckeyes the cover, 34-23.
What a roller-coaster ride for that bettor.
A Betr spokesperson told me, “This was the first college football bet we’ve taken from this user, who joined us late in the football season after we launched the first version of our new app. It’s been great to see their confidence in placing such wagers.”
Even with the big wager on Notre Dame, it wasn’t a great game for Betr.
“With the Buckeyes covering both the moneyline and spread, the results weren’t ideal for us on paper this morning,” the Betr spokesperson said in an email. “However, taking this significant bet early in the day allowed us to adjust and offer market-leading odds on Ohio throughout the day, giving our Ohio user base unbeatable value. Ohio State was a popular choice among our users, particularly in both the spread and moneyline markets pre-game, where they were included in 44% of all parlays recorded. Additionally, we saw increased activity on Ohio State after Notre Dame’s first drive, with significant wagers placed on the spread and first half moneyline markets when the spread line adjusted to -3.5.”