One of the more recent additions to U.S. online sportsbooks designed to entice bettors to get in on the action are odds boosts. All of the leading legal sportsbook apps in the United States are now offering these bumps to the odds on select bets.
You’ll find an odds boosts promo selection in the drop down menu at such prominent and popular betting sites in NJ, Colorado, Indiana, PA, Illinois, Michigan, soon New York, as BetMGM, Unibet, BetRivers, DraftKings, Pointsbet. These offers are exactly what they say they are – a boost to the odds of specific wagers each day.
What is odds boost?
Think of odds boost promotions like how a grocery store operates. Every week when you peruse the fliers from the various grocery outlets (in our case sportsbooks), they are offering price reductions on certain staples that are designed to get you to shop at their store. One shop might offer a deal on bread. Elsewhere, coffee could be on sale. At a third store, the savings may be on breakfast cereal. In each case, these reductions are designed to get customers through the door to do their weekly grocery shopping. Come for the cheap bread, stay for your meat, vegetable and fruit needs.
The principle behind a sportsbook offering an odds boost is no different. The extra juice a bettor is getting on whether Tiger Woods will make the cut at the PGA Championship might also convince that player to make another wager on the tournament, say perhaps prop wagers on whether Woods will finish in the top five or top 10 of the event.
Types Of Odds Boosts
Sportsbooks will offer odds boosts on just about any type of bet. They will frequently seek to connect the wager to an upcoming event that’s in the news or is gaining traction as a popular play. That could be a major in golf or tennis, a big one-off event such as the Kentucky Derby, or the final stages of a significant competition like the UEFA Champions League.
Prop bets are also common odds boost partners. It might be a quick hitter on whether a group of three golfers will all hit the fairway with their first tee shot in the opening round of that week’s PGA Tour event. Or it could be a combo play, such as a soccer team scoring the first goal and then going on to win the match in a UCL game.
Another popular move in the odds boost game is to play the long game and offer boosts on future book wagers. This could entail how many games an NFL team will win during a season, or whether a team will earn a postseason spot. Often, they also deal with individual player accomplishments – how many touchdowns an NFL player will score, or how many home runs an MLB hitter might slug.
Is an Odds Boost A Good Bet?
On the surface, you’d certainly think that getting a better price on a wager is advantageous but more isn’t always necessarily better. Improved odds on a bet that is logically going to be a losing wager doesn’t really help. More of nothing is still nothing.
For instance, FanDuel is currently offering an odds boost on the New York Giants to make the NFL playoffs. They’ve bumped the odds from +380 to +425. At the same time, they’ve placed a governor on this wager, limiting the maximum bet to $50. This is another common practice with odds boosts. As well, sportsbooks will sometimes attach time restrictions to an odds boost, the old, ‘this offer expires at midnight tonight.’ Except in this instance, it actually does expire.
In the case of this odds boost, it should be noted that the Giants have gone 3-13, 5-11 and 4-12 over the past three seasons and will be on their fourth head coach in as many years. That sure doesn’t sound a squad with a playoff appearance in their immediate future.
The only boost you’re likely to get with this play is the sportsbook boosting the sum you wager out of your wallet.
Big Blast Boost: Place a $20+ pregame ML on the Washington Nationals vs. N.Y Mets 8/13 matchup, earn a $10 for every HR hit by the following star players on your team *Washington Nationals: Juan Soto, Victor Robles, *N.Y. Mets: Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso*
*Example of the odds boost promo by William Hill USA.
When Should You Boost The Odds?
As with any other type of wager, doing your research prior to making a play is your best bet. There will be some odds boosts that may be worth the roll of the dice.
A good venture that’s out there at the moment is available at DraftKings NJ. The sportsbook is offering an odds boost from +300 to +350 on Rob Gronkowski winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. If Gronk, after ending a year’s retirement to join old pal Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, performs at anywhere near the level of his All-Pro self with the New England Patriots, then this award is his to lose.
Best U.S. Sportsbooks Odds Boost Promotions
Signup with recommended sportsbooks to receive their free odds boost promos today or ahead of the major sports betting events. Normally, prices are improved significantly 20 hours before the game/match/UFC fight. Follow American Gambler twitter to get promos and subscribe to the special offers below. 21+.
Featured pic: Example of the odds boost offer by Pointsbet.
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