The Washington Football Team has received a sports betting permit in Virginia and, through the franchise's partnership with FanDuel, launched a mobile sportsbook in the Commonwealth on Thursday.
The Virginia Lottery issued the permit to Washington on Wednesday, making the Football Team the first NFL franchise to receive a sports betting license.
Get the latest NHL team betting stats for 2020-2021 including moneyline, against the spread (puck line) and Over/Under totals, and team & player stats.
- 1 day ago The underdogs are 13-6 ATS over the last 18 years, and the higher-seeded team (Kansas City is the AFC’s No. 1 seed) is just 2-14-2 ATS recently, and the team with the better record is 1-10 in.
- Jul 15, 2020 When the oddsmakers release a betting line on a game, the first thing they do is decide which team should be the favorite and which should be the underdog. The favorite is the team that is expected to win the game and will get a minus sign next to its odds, while the underdog is expected to lose and gets a plus sign.
Financial details of Washington's partnership with FanDuel and how revenue from the Virginia sportsbook will be shared between the bookmaker and the team were not disclosed. NFL franchises are not allowed to directly participate in or provide sports betting; however, in states that grant teams market access, they can designate a sportsbook to utilize the license, a league spokesman told ESPN.
Washington declined to comment on the sports betting permit and referred questions to FanDuel.
'The way the Virginia legislation is written, there is preferential treatment to the team, which is one of the reasons why we're privileged to be the first sportsbook live in the state of Virginia,' Mike Raffensperger, chief marketing officer for FanDuel, said Thursday.
Raffensperger said bettors in Virginia should expect to see Washington Football Team marks and logos on the online sportsbook. The partnership extends into Washington, D.C., where FanDuel signage will appear at Fedex Field.
Virginia's sports betting market will launch online only; the move to allow retail sportsbooks is still being discussed. As of Thursday afternoon, FanDuel, in conjunction with the Football Team, was the only approved permit holder.
In addition to Virginia, Illinois and the District of Columbia also allow professional teams and/or stadiums to receive sports betting licenses. Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., has a retail sportsbook, and Nationals Park and Wrigley Field have announced intentions to add sports betting to their venues.
While Washington is the first NFL franchise to hold a sports betting permit, it is not expected to be the last.
'It's exciting that the NFL teams and other league teams are getting involved,' Scott Ward, a government affairs partner for lobbying firm Orrick, who worked on the legislative process in Virginia, told ESPN. 'I think we're going to see this in other states, particularly throughout the South, where you don't have casinos, including Texas.'
The Washington franchise has an established presence in Virginia, with its headquarters and training facility located in Ashburn. Virginia delegate Mark Sickles, who sponsored the sports betting legislation, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that no deal with Washington for a new stadium had been struck and that the granting of the permit to the Football Team was 'a sign of good faith on our part.'
With Virginia's launch, 20 states and the District of Columbia will have regulated sports betting markets. Five states have passed sports betting legislation and are gearing up to launch markets, while more than a dozen states are currently examining the issue. Idaho, Utah and Wisconsin are the only remaining states that have not introduced sports betting legislation since a 2018 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down the federal statute that restricted regulated bookmaking to primarily Nevada.
ESPN's John Keim contributed to this report.
Team Betting Stats
In the world of sports betting, a money line bet is simply betting on which team you expect to win. It doesn’t have anything to do with a spread. You may also see a money line bet listed as “Money Line” or “ML” in different spaces.
Money lines are represented in negative and positive values.
Negative money line: -145, -220, or anything similar
When you see a minus (-) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the favorite to win the game.
That number also indicates how much money you need to bet/spend in order to win $100.
For example, a -220 money line means you need to bet $220 in order to win $100 provided the team you bet on actually does win.
Heavy favorites are known in sports betting as a “chalk” pick. A heavy favorite usually has a number pushing +300 or more. Here, you’re wagering a lot on the favorite to win a little. Don’t assume that a heavy favorite, or chalk pick, is a guaranteed winner…
Team Betting Index
Positive money line: +145, +220, or anything similar
When you see a plus (+) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the underdog. Higher numbers like +400, +500, +5000, etc. represent how much of an underdog the team is in the game. The higher the number the more likely the team is expected to lose in the eyes of the oddsmakers.
The number also indicates how much money would win in comparison to every $100 you wager.
For example, a +150 money line means you would win $150 for each $100 wager you place should that team win the game.
Antonio Brown Team Betting Odds
Money line examples:
Lets use an NFL example here:
New England Patriots -240
Miami Dolphins +220
To bet the New England Patriots to win on the money line, you would need to spend $240 on the bet for a chance to win $100 if the Patriots beat the Dolphins. Your return would be $340 – the original $240 stake (bet) and the $100 bet profit.
To bet the Miami Dolphins to win on the money line, you would spend $100 on the bet for a chance to win $220 if the Dolphins, as the underdog, beat the Patriots. Your return would be $320 – the original $100 stake (bet) and the $220 profit.
In both situations, it doesn’t matter if the team you bet on wins by one point or 100 points. You’re purely betting on the team you believe will win the game. As Al Davis said, “Just win, baby.” That’s exactly what you’d be looking for out of your selection. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to happen or your original stake is lost.