November Has Been Awful For NFL Bettors

Sports are extremely unpredictable, which is why it’s so popular with casual watchers and the betting public alike. A major favorite can always fall to a seemingly lesser opponent, leading to anyone with skin in the game pulling out hair. Well, as it turns out this unpredictability has been borderline disastrous for some sports bettors this past month. And that’s not just the opinion of some bettors on a bad streak, it’s actually been confirmed by a number of sportsbooks. Let’s take a quick look at why November saw heavy snowfall in the form of ripped up NFL bet tickets.

November Disastrous For NFL Sports Bettors

It’s no secret that the NFL brings in the sports betting cash. It’s been estimated that around 45.2 million Americans were planning on betting on pro football this season, and the concrete data on bets will be fascinating to analyze once the season wraps up. The growing number of states that allow for legal wagering, alongside the NFL making official partnerships with sportsbooks, has set 2021 to be the most bet-on season by far. But, at least in November, a lot of those bets haven’t been cashed by the public. One of the biggest reasons for this? Underdogs.

As it currently stands, underdogs have been covering the spread at a consistent rate throughout November, covering 60% of games. Additionally, there have been numerous straight up wins throughout the month, with 23 different underdogs finishing with wins outright against favored opponents. Stations Casino bookmaker Chuck Esposito claims this is symptomatic of some of the more impressive teams plateauing as the season continues.

Sportsbooks Cleaning Up This Month

You know who didn’t have a rough November? The sportsbooks. Typically, the books in Vegas will hold onto around 5.5% of bets from sports bets. That number grew up to 6.25% in the month throughout November. In fact, according to SuperBook executive director John Murray, November looks to be one of the most profitable months ever for Las Vegas sportsbooks.

But before you start thinking the sportsbooks have been dominating the football season, remember that October was pretty rough on the sports betting platforms. There were three straight losing weeks for sportsbooks on NFL Sundays, which may have led to more money being bet (and lost) on pro football the following month. The tides all started to shift just a few weeks ago, when the Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Buffalo Bills despite closing as 16-point underdogs.

A Few Betting Notes

Thanks to a fairly dominant November, underdogs are enjoying a great NFL season. So far, dogs are 99-77-1 ATS, which could be the best performance since 1980. Home teams, on the other hand, are having as rough of a season as November football bettors. Teams are a rough 77-101-1 at home this season, which is also looking to be the worst mark since the start of the Super Bowl era. With five weeks left of NFL action, it’ll be interesting to see if sharps and public bettors bounce back in December.