the early season betting enthusiasm<\/a> is clearly gone, thanks in large part to COVID-19.<\/p>\nOn Monday, 96 NFL players tested positive for the virus, and 106 were added to the league’s reserve\/COVID-19 list \u2013 both records.<\/p>\n
Further frustrating sportsbooks and bettors, the NHL has suffered through postponed games. College basketball games are also frequently canceled or postponed, NBA stars are missing games because of that league’s protocols and, thus far, four college bowl games were canceled because of the pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\nAll of that is relevant to sportsbook operators, because football and basketball are the two most wagered-on sports in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Week 16 NFL betting activity declined significantly relative to the prior four weeks, catching sportsbook operators and some market observers by surprise. GeoComply sports betting data aggregated by Morgan Stanley indicates year-over-year growth in NFL handle was just 58 percent. Growth is good, but the Week 16 figure compares with upticks of 100 percent, 107 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":196630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81881,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
NFL Week 16 Betting Activity Dropped, COVID-19 Likely Culprit<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n