Detroit Lions

Local Hometown NFL Betting Hits Online Sportsbooks

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  • The three most bet upon teams to make the NFL Playoffs are the Tenessee Titans, Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions.
  • These teams are not highly regarded in terms of odds, with only the Titans favored to win their division.

DETROIT - The changing tides of sports betting legalization and regulation affect betting markets in different ways.

One major way in which the uneven landscape of sportsbook legality in the United States has affected betting analysts is via analysis of the most bet upon teams in the NFL.

The Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans are not the three best teams in the NFL. The Lions, in fact, are the team with the second longest Super Bowl odds.

However, it seems as though widespread sportsbook legalization in Michigan, Colorado and Tennessee has led to them becoming the most bet on teams in the nation.

SUPER BOWL 56 (2022) - Odds To Win (Titans, Broncos, Lions)

  • Tennessee Titans +2800
  • Denver Broncos +4000
  • Detroit Lions +17500

The Titans are the only one of these three teams with a favorable shot at making the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl.

They are mild favorites to win the AFC South, and in terms of Super Bowl odds, are grouped with teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers - lower tier playoff contenders.

AFC South Division Winner Odds

  • Tennessee Titans -115
  • Indianapolis Colts +150
  • Jacksonville Jaguars +600
  • Houston Texans +2500

The Broncos and the Lions - especially the Lions - are even more unlikely to win the Super Bowl than the Titans - and obviously more unlikely to make the playoffs.

Betting Volume Driven By Sportsbook Accessibility

This online gambling volume could be driven mostly by the widely accessible sports betting available in these teamsā€™ respective states, allowing hometown bettors to bet with their hearts.

In Tennessee, a method of legalization involving only mobile sportsbooks has been a runaway success.

Colorado opened multiple brick and mortar sportsbooks, but more than 20 online options, while Michiganā€™s online sports betting arrived in 2021 and seems to have become a significant part of their market.

The major question for sports bettors outside of these states, however, is if the mode of analysis that involves examining wager volume compared to total money wagered is now compromised due to these factors.

The problem that this raises is that the widely accessible and available nature of online sportsbooks brings in more squares than it does sharps.

A normal bettor might not drive to a casino to place a $5 bet on the Lions, but they might open their phone to do it now in these states. Meanwhile, a sharp would absolutely drive to a casino to place a $10,000 bet on a team.

One wonders what implications this could have for those who enjoy comparing the wager volume to the amount of money wagered on teams in these states - it seems as though it would drive the average amount of money per wager down.