As the U.S. economy opens, so should sports. Make sure your bettors know the sports betting options as these leagues get back to work.
The U.S. economy is slowly reopening. With it, two of the most popular sports leagues in the nation, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, have plans in place to restart their seasons so let’s have a look at the sports betting options to let your players know about.
That’s good news for bookies. Ever since the coronavirus pandemic forced the NBA and NHL to shut down, agents have struggled to find betting options to promote.
Many agents have turned to their digital racebooks and casinos. Some have added premium live dealer casinos.
All three sports betting platforms have helped bookies weather the Covid-19 Crisis storm. But although per head agents are happy to accept action from casino and racebook betting, they can’t wait to start again profiting from traditional sports like basketball and hockey.
Because horse racing has become a focus, let’s first talk about the two most important meets of the year. Then, we’ll discuss how bookies can soon offer hoops wagering and ice hockey wagering.
Summer Horse Racing
On June 20, Belmont Park ran the Belmont Stakes. Although the conditions of the Belmont Stakes weren’t ideal, the race was a huge hit.
The momentum that horse racing got from the first Triple Crown race of the year should carry over to the two most exciting meets of the year, Del Mar and Saratoga.
Saratoga is the oldest racetrack in the United States. Its most prestigious event, the Travers Stakes, will happen on August 8, about a month before the 2020 Kentucky Derby.
Del Mar runs a Saturday meet unlike any other in the nation. The racetrack dubbed “Where the Turf Meets the Surf” will run its most famous race, the Pacific Classic, on August 22.
Both meets should garner plenty of horseplayer betting action. Make sure your players know they can wager on Del Mar and Saratoga races in your digital racebook.
NBA Sports Betting Options
The National Basketball Association has a restart plan in place. The restart calls for the NBA Preseason to start around mid-July.
NBA squads will play eight regular-season games. A few NBA teams will compete in a play-in series to determine who makes the NBA Orlando Playoffs.
The league has tentatively scheduled the 2020 NBA Finals for September 27 through October 17.
Some are questioning the league’s desire to stage all games at the Disney World Resort in Orlando. Commissioner Adam Silver is dead set on finishing the 2020 NBA Season. Team owners have worked with players to make it easy for them to participate or not participate.
It’s up to the players to decide if they wish to play. That means, some form of the NBA Orlando Playoffs will happen.
NHL’s return to the ice
The NHL has a restart plan. Unlike the NBA, though, the professional hockey league has yet to decide in what cities they’ll play.
There is some good news, though. Canada finally said they’d allow NHL to play during the pandemic. That’s a big positive because Canada hadn’t yet said if the National Hockey League could resume its season.
The nation’s silence had left the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers in the dark.
You can’t run a league with 7-of-31 teams not playing. Also, the NHL would have lost out on significant television revenue if only U.S. teams could participate.
Hockey betting is different than against the spread wagering. Educate your players on hockey betting by turning them to baseball betting.
Just like in baseball, one of the sports betting options is to wager on the handicap. We call it a puck line in hockey.
NFL Preseason betting
The United States, heck, the world, is ready for some football. The most crucial of the sports betting options of the year, if the NFL remains on track, bookies can exhale.
The first game of the season happens on September 5. August 6 is the Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, though.
That’s the date to circle. If the Steelers and Boys hit the Canton, Ohio grass on August 6, every sportsbook operator in the world will do virtual high-fives on Instagram.
It will mean the sports world has put the coronavirus pandemic in the rearview mirror. Let’s cross our fingers in hopes the NFL Hall of Fame Game goes off without a hitch.
There’s still time to check out PayPerHead’s betting platforms
PayPerHead continues to run a promotions where agents can access their sportsbook software for free until two weeks after the first major sports competition.
Because the NBA and NHL won’t play until July 30, and MLB has yet to decide on a starting plan, there’s a good chance the NFL Hall of Fame Game falls under the promotion.
That gives bookmakers a chance to see how much they like the software. Check out PayPerHead.com and take advantage of the promotion for the entire month of July and into the first couple weeks of August.
