Everything that happens in sports has additional context when viewed from a betting perspective. From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.
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Oct. 30: How the Blue Jays are a win away from saving U.S. sportsbooks
Doug Greenberg: The Toronto Blue Jays were +6000 to win the World Series going into the season and +750, tied for third-longest odds, entering the 2025 divisional round. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season as the heaviest World Series favorite in over two decades and came into the Fall Classic with huge -210 odds to repeat as champions.
Yet even with the Blue Jays' relative improbability and the Dodgers' seeming inevitability, the series heads back to Toronto with the Blue Jays one win away from their third World Series win in history. The Jays are finally odds-on title favorites, at -250, with the Dodgers +205, according to ESPN BET.
Despite short futures odds all year, the Dodgers inspired as much confidence in bettors as they seemingly did with bookmakers. L.A. has been the undoubted tickets and handle leader at all the major sportsbooks, with several bookmakers expressing that another Dodgers championship would be at least a small loss for them, though the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners were generally larger liabilities before their respective eliminations.
Most U.S. bettors weren't giving the American League champs a chance heading into the World Series: Between ALCS Game 7 and World Series Game 1, 96.7% of series winner handle from United States-based wagers backed the Dodgers, according to ESPN BET.
Compare that with Ontario -- Canada's only province with privatized legal sports betting -- where Toronto received 80.6% of the money to win the World Series over that same period. BetMGM says the Blue Jays are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the book's largest liability in Ontario.
The Blue Jays have gotten this far on the back of tremendous individual performances, including from starting pitcher Trey Yesavage, who broke a rookie World Series record by striking out 12 batters in Game 5. ESPN BET had his main pregame strikeout total set at 4.5 and offered an alternative line up to just 9-plus (+1000).
Game 6 is on Friday, with the Dodgers once again favored at -140 and the Blue Jays home underdogs at +120, per ESPN BET. DraftKings reports the Blue Jays receiving just over half of the money-line tickets and handle overall, and over 80% in Ontario.
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Oct. 28: Ovechkin, Capitals action heating up as he chases 900 goals
Doug Greenberg: Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record as his Washington Capitals chased the top record in the Eastern Conference was the talk of the the 2024-25 NHL season, and sports bettors very much bought into the action, making Ovi one of the most-bet players for props last season.
Ovechkin, of course, set the new record in April and is now eyeing up a new piece of NHL lore, seeking to become the first player in league history to reach 900 career goals. Sitting at 899, he can do so as early as Tuesday night when the Capitals face the Dallas Stars on the road, one of 16 games across the league as part of the annual "Frozen Frenzy."
The hype surrounding Ovi this season isn't quite what it was when he was chasing Gretzky, but it's still somewhat respectable; DraftKings told ESPN that he is the 10th most-bet NHL player for props thus far. That said, the action around him is starting to heat up as he continues to pass key career milestones.
"It was a slower start to his season, but the interest has ramped up, and with tomorrow's Frozen Frenzy it's a great time for him to get there [to 900 goals]," Caesars Sportsbook's head of hockey Karry Shreeve told ESPN over email on Monday evening. "There was heightened interest on and during his 1,500th game, and I expect the same for tomorrow."
Shreeve also said that there has been interest in Washington's futures once again, so much so that he and his team decided to shorten the Caps to 15-1 for the Stanley Cup, citing their "exceptional brand of hockey." The Capitals' championship futures vary across the sportsbook marketplace, though, ranging anywhere from Caesars' short of 15-1, to as long as of 30-1 at BetMGM and FanDuel. DraftKings has Washington as its 13th most-bet team for the Stanley Cup.
The Caps are +115 underdogs to the Stars (-135) for Tuesday night's contest, with the total sitting at 5.5, juiced to the over at -130, as of Tuesday midday at ESPN BET. Ovechkin is +155 to score a goal in the contest.
At BetMGM, nearly three quarters of the wagers and money are backing Washington to win. Ovechkin is the second most-backed player to score a goal in the game, behind Mikko Rantanen, but Ovechkin under 3.5 shots is the second most-bet market in the game by handle -- more than total, spread or anytime goal scorer.
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Oct. 21: Impact of LeBron James' injury on Lakers' spread, win total
David Purdum: The Los Angeles Lakers went from favorites to underdogs in their opener against the Golden State Warriors, after it was announced that LeBron James would miss the start of the season while dealing with sciatica on his right side.
The Lakers were listed as 3-point favorites over the Warriors before James' injury was announced. The line shifted all the way to Warriors -2.5 after the news.
"I don't think LeBron individually is worth that many points," Jeff Sherman, a veteran NBA oddsmaker with the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, told ESPN. "He's not worth five and half points."
Sherman said the line movement in the Warriors-Lakers game is more pronounced because of the spread being relatively low to start. "When you start getting through a pick 'em line, it just cuts through butter. [The movement] has more to do with the region the line was in," he added.
James, 40, is not expected to return until mid-November, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Sherman estimated that James could miss around 12 games and adjusted the Lakers' season-win total, accordingly.
The Lakers' win total had been around 48.5 at sportsbooks over the summer and ahead of the James injury announcement. Sherman said he thought the adjustment should be a reduction of around three wins, but the overall betting market only moved slightly.
"There was barely any adjustment," Sherman said.
He moved the Lakers' win total down to 46.5 and took some money on the over but kept the number at 46.5 entering Tuesday's opener.
Despite James' early absence, the Lakers have been a very popular bet at the SuperBook, where more bets have been placed on the Lakers to win the title than any other team by a "wide margin," Sherman said.
Oct. 17: Who wants to win the AFC North?
Doug Greenberg: Perhaps no other division in the NFL has gone less according to plan thus far than the AFC North. On Thursday night, the divisional drama experienced another twist when the hapless, Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals upset the Pittsburgh Steelers outright as five-point underdogs.
The Steelers entered the week as both the odds-on favorites to win the division (-160) and heavy favorites to make the playoffs (-275), according to ESPN BET. After the loss, they're notably longer favorites for the AFC North (+115) and took a big hit in the playoff market (-140). The Bengals, seemingly revived with Joe Flacco under center, immensely improved their fortunes, going from 16-1 to +600 for the division, and from 11-1 to +400 to make the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens, recovering on bye after a disappointing 1-5 start to the season, benefited from the Pittsburgh loss without having to do anything, moving from +160 to +130 to win the AFC North at ESPN BET; Baltimore was as long as +190 for the division earlier in the week at other books.
At BetMGM, the Ravens actually didn't move from their +105 odds to make the playoffs, but the book notes they are the most backed team in the league to miss the playoffs (-125) by handle. The Ravens opened the season as Super Bowl co-favorites (+650) and currently show 18-1, per ESPN BET lines.
Thursday's result certainly resonated with bettors, who began fading Pittsburgh for the division en masse: ESPN BET reports that since the end of the game, the Ravens took a leading 36% of the handle to win the AFC North, while the Bengals garnered a leading 32.5% of the wagers. The Steelers, on the other hand, took just 14.5% of the tickets and 1% of the money.
What about the Cleveland Browns? They're still a distant 35-1 to win the division, but they're trending towards playing in a game with the lowest total of the season ... again. Upon reports of potentially very windy, rainy weather in Cleveland, the Browns' matchup with the Miami Dolphins has dropped precipitously from 40.5 at open to 36.5 as of Friday afternoon.
With several sportsbooks reporting heavy action on the under (as much as 98% of handle at BetMGM), this total could drop below the league-low 35.5 the Browns attracted in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings. The Browns also played in the second-lowest total game of the season against the Steelers in Week 6 (37.5).
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Oct. 14: MNF caps off tumultuous Week 6 for NFL MVP futures
Doug Greenberg: There's a case to be made that the Atlanta Falcons' upset win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night was the single most consequential result for NFL futures thus far in the 2025 season, capping off a big week for futures movement.
Perhaps the most significant movement happened in the MVP market, which has a new favorite for the first time since Week 2. After two straight losses for his Bills, reigning MVP Josh Allen dropped from first to third on ESPN BET's odds board, showing +325. Meanwhile, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes moved into the lead at +200, while Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield continued his surge up the board, showing second-favorite odds at +300.
Allen began the season tied for second on the board but was not an overly popular selection among bettors. Mahomes has gained momentum in terms of action, racking up the most handle at ESPN BET since the start of the season and since Week 4. The two-time MVP hit a long of 25-1 in the market on Sept. 28.
But the public's preference at this point is clearly Mayfield, who opened at 30-1, as he goes for his first MVP award. Since opening day, the 2018 first overall pick has attracted more tickets at DraftKings and ESPN BET than any other player. He also has the most handle at DraftKings over that time period, and the most wagers at ESPN BET since Week 4. Mayfield's splits are also high at BetMGM, causing the book to identify him as its largest liability.
"Baker Mayfield's play has vaulted him up into top contention, and Josh Allen's back-to-back losses have bumped him down a bit," BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini told ESPN over email. "Mahomes getting Rashee Rice back may be the boost he needs, but we still have a long way to go."
To that end, Cipollini added that "there's no clear front runner this early on in the NFL MVP race."
While the top three candidates are starting to separate themselves from the pack, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is rapidly moving up the board: After starting the season at 50-1 for NFL MVP, Maye showed 25-1 entering Sunday's action and sits in fourth place at 11-1 at ESPN BET as of Tuesday afternoon.
The ripple effect
Maye's breakout campaign has led New England to a head-to-head win over Buffalo, a 4-2 start and first place in the AFC East. The last point is notable from the betting perspective, because the Pats are now just +185 to win the division, shortened from +550 at the beginning of the season.
The Bills, coming off losses to New England and Atlanta, are still -225 for the AFC East, but that's lengthened from -350 ahead of the season and an astounding -2500 entering Week 4. Buffalo's slide, along with Kansas City's resurgence, has shaken up the Super Bowl market as well: The Bills are now cofavorites with the Chiefs at +600 after coming into the week as solo favorites at +500, according to ESPN BET odds.