The 2024 NFL regular season was one to remember for bettors.
The public won at an unprecedented rate as betting favorites dominated much of the 18-week slate, taking a toll on sportsbooks and limiting expected revenue in a way operators had never experienced before.
“The 2024/2025 NFL season to date has been the most customer friendly since the launch of online sports betting with the highest rate of favorites winning in nearly 20 years,” FanDuel said in a statement last week.
The Flutter-owned company lowered its expected revenue by roughly $390 million. And FanDuel wasn’t alone. DraftKings pulled back on its fiscal-year projections halfway through the NFL season.
Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg said during the company's 2024 third-quarter release, which covered a multi-week successful run by NFL favorites, that “October is not going to look great for anybody relative to what they were expecting.”
While sportsbooks did have some operator-favorable results in November and December, DraftKings reported that favorites in the NFL went 221-111 on the moneyline and 169-157-6 against the spread.
Fanatics Sportsbook told Covers that playoff-caliber teams quickly separating themselves led to customer-friendly results.
“Teams who underperformed, such as the 49ers, Cowboys, and Jets, were confidently identified by customers pretty quickly after the season began,” a Fanatics spokesperson said. “And teams like the Vikings, Commanders, and Broncos, all of whom exceeded expectations, showed their form by midseason and haven't faltered significantly.”
A new popular team emerged during the season as well. While the Kansas City Chiefs are long known for getting public backing and winning at a high rate, the Detroit Lions matched them with a 15-2 overall record. However, the Chiefs went 8-9 against the spread while the Lions went 12-5 and became one of the most-bet teams at various sportsbooks during the regular season.
Several sportsbooks shared 2024 insights with Covers, detailing what was popular among bettors and why the NFL’s regular season turned out the way it did.
bet365
Expansion into new markets like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, as well as the first full NFL season of operations in Louisiana, Iowa, and Kentucky spurred solid numbers for the online operator.
bet365 reported large increases in betting slips with player-prop markets dominating the betting landscape. The sportsbook also said live and parlay betting was up because of the platform’s U.S. expansion.
Offering a wide range of player props and boosts, bet365 was able to overcome the onslaught of successful favorites to produce a higher hold on pre-game wagers than the previous year.
Mahomes finishes with 320 passing yards and 3 passing TD to CASH THE SUPER BOOST :moneybag::moneybag: https://t.co/PGkgJG3ms3
— bet365 US (@bet365_us) December 25, 2024
bet365 reported that the Week 1 opener on Thursday night between the Ravens and Chiefs was the most-bet game of the regular season. A Week 2 matchup between Buffalo and Miami was No. 2, followed by Bengals-Ravens in Week 10, Cowboys-Giants in Week 4, and Saints-Chiefs in Week 5. All of those matchups were standalone games on either Thursday or Monday.
Behind a resurgence at the running back position, anytime touchdown wagers were big at bet365, which reported major growth in those markets across North America and globally to the degree that they were more popular than moneyline parlays at times. The operator noted that Derrick Henry, Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, James Cook, and Kyren Williams were some of the most-bet players in those touchdown markets.
The U.K.-based sports betting operator has seen the NFL grow globally in recent years, a trend that continued in 2024 with the league’s commitment to playing games in Europe and South America. Some regions saw a 60% increase in NFL wagers.
“Although the NFL has been popular for many years in Europe, it has grown to a much broader base for betting action,” bet365 trading leader Aron Wattleworth said. “As the NFL International games have been going for some time (and they continue to add more year-over-year), this growth over the last 2-3 decades has been more generational, as well as regional.
“The expansion of betting in more countries around the globe naturally brings more action. Plus the popularity of the NFL as a sport itself has seen a huge global growth through its International initiatives that continue to expand and bring more exposure to new regions/fans.”
BetMGM
The Detroit Lions were a popular team to bet on in this NFL season at most sportsbooks. BetMGM was no exception.
Four of the operator’s most-bet games included the NFC North winner. The regular-season finale against the Vikings was No. 1, and it was for the division, a playoff bye, and home-field advantage.
A late-season matchup on Monday Night Football against the 49ers was the second most-bet game of the season. The Chiefs-Ravens opener was third, followed by Lions-Texans in Week 10 and Packers-Lions in Week 14.
Live betting accounted for 30% of NFL regular-season wagering, and like bet365, BetMGM reported “growth in touchdown betting markets.”
“Anytime touchdown and first touchdown scorer markets were always among the most bet behind spread/total/moneyline,” a BetMGM spokesperson told Covers.
BetMGM even offered a “Second-Chance” promotion. If a player failed to score the first touchdown but scored the second one, the sportsbook issued a refund.
DraftKings
The online sportsbook reported in late December that no league generated more bets than the NFL across all sports.
All five of the most-bet games at DraftKings in 2024 came from the NFL. Ravens-Chiefs took in the most money of any regular-season game while Jets-49ers received the most tickets. The Chiefs were the most-bet team of 2024, which included the previous season’s playoffs and Super Bowl, but the Lions were No. 2.
Detroit was also the second-biggest moneymaker for NFL bettors in 2024 behind only the Chiefs. Some of the bankroll breakers included the Jets, Browns, Dolphins, and Saints.
Ja’Marr Chase led all players as the biggest moneymaker during the regular season when the Cincinnati Bengals receiver led the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions. Jets wideout Allen Lazard and Barkley rounded out the top three.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who had his lowest-producing season as a pro, was the biggest bankroll breaker among players, followed by Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
Fanatics Sportsbook
The Lions were the most-bet regular-season team in the first full season of NFL betting at Fanatics Sportsbook. They’re also the most popular NFC pick to win the Super Bowl in Fanatics’ futures markets while the Ravens lead the way in the AFC.
Texans-Ravens on Christmas Day garnered the largest handle this season, and Henry was the most popular Anytime TD bet.
The Steelers surprised Fanatics by having three games in Fanatics’ top-10 handles of the regular season because Pittsburgh didn’t have big offensive names to run up parlay counts. Plus, the Steelers had lower point totals, which don’t typically attract public bettors.
