COVID-19 Has Huge Impact on Sports Betting Market
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The U.S. and the NFL are seeing spikes in coronavirus cases as we enter cold and flu season. The NFL has already had issues with COVID-19 with the Tennessee Titans having to postpone one game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the San Francisco 49ers having to play the Green Bay Packers with a limited roster.
This has caused an absolute nightmare with handicapping NFL games with the unknowns of who will be in or out for the week. Scheduling has also become a nightmare with having to push games back to Monday or even Tuesday.
The NFL has decided to continue with the NFL season despite spikes in COVID cases and scheduling issues across the NFL. How are NFL bettors supposed to feel like they have a chance at winning on Sundays when multiple players on multiple teams are having COVID issues.
NFL and COVID
This week alone has become a major issue for the NFL. This week alone, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens had to postpone its game to Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers will not be able to play home games the rest of the year, and the NFL has decided to close all facilities on Monday and Tuesday this week.
All year, the NFL has been able to luck themselves out of a major COVID outbreak, but it seems like that possibility is no more. Contact tracing and daily testing have not been enough to limit positive COIVD cases.
Plus, the COVID protocols have not been consistent across teams. The San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders were able to play the game despite both teams having many players on COVID protol. However, the Patriots, Titans, Ravens, and Steelers have all see games postponed or pushed back to later dates with minimal positive tests.
The Denver Broncos will play on Sunday with no active quarterback on the roster due to contact tracing. Wide receiver Kendall Hinton will start at quarterback for the Broncos this Sunday. Hinton played quarterback at Wake Forest during his college career.
The NFL has a major issue brewing, and they will need to tackle it this week if they want to finish out the season.
How Does this Affect Betting the NFL?
The line for the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints game opened up as the Saints as a six-point road favorite. However, on Saturday, it was announced that none of the Broncos quarterbacks would be available this Sunday, and the team still planned to play. The line was then adjusted to the Saints as a 13-point favorite and has gone up to New Orleans -15.
How is it fair for a bettor who took Broncos +6 earlier in the week, now has one of the worst numbers possible due to the NFL’s contact tracing protocols? The team shouldn’t be able to play if they do not have a full position unavailable.
This makes handicapping NFL games this season nearly impossible at times because COVID is viewed as an injury. However, there is a threshold for this as some teams, like the Broncos, have no choice in the matter, and it is hurting handicappers if a sportsbook is not willing to get out of a ticket like the Broncos +6.
This could hurt NFL betting if the issue is not resolved. For now, bet at your own risk.
