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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Blake Schuster

An absurd amount of moneyline bets have already been placed on one Super Bowl 56 team

We’ve reached the midway point of the run up to Super Bowl 56.

Championship Sunday is now a distant memory, the Pro Bowl has come and gone without anyone really noticing and bettors have gotten busy placing their wagers in anticipation of kickoff.

A week ago we learned the Cincinnati Bengals opened as a 4.5-point underdog to capture the Lombardi Trophy against the favored Los Angeles Rams. With six days to go, bettors have mostly decided they don’t even need the points to back the Bengals.

According to Tipico Sportsbook, 74 percent of moneyline bettors have taken Cincinnati (+165, bet $100 to win $165) to win the Super Bowl. On the spread, 51 percent of bettors have the Bengals at +4.5 and 51 percent have taken the point total over 48.5.

Spread: Rams -3.5

Moneyline: Rams (-200), Bengals (+165)

Over/Under: 48.5

The action even helped move the line from Rams -4.5 to Rams -3.5 on Monday morning.

There’s even some good evidence moneyline bettors are making the right decision, too. According to research from BetFTW’s Prince Grimes, teams favored by 4.5 or 5.0 points in the Super Bowl are 0-4 outright in title games.

Should that trend continue, there’s no reason for bettors to take the points. Not when they can grab better odds on the moneyline. After decades of incompetence, the Bengals are not only back in the Super Bowl—they’re the preferred team of most gamblers.

For a team that won just six games total between 2019 and 2020, it shows the Bengals’ stunning turnaround has already won over the hearts and wallets of bettors everywhere.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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