Sports bettors are always looking for big payouts. An unlikely betting outcome Sunday paid out a substantial profit for several sports bettors.
What Happened: The NFL Conference Championship games on Sunday were widely watched on CBS and Fox, the media channels owned by ViacomCBS Inc (NASDAQ:VIAC) and Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX), respectively.
While many tuned in to watch their favorite teams, many tuned in to watch a game that they wagered real money on. Several bettors were likely sweating the outcome of the nightcap between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
A bettor on FanDuel, which is owned by Flutter Entertainment (OTC:PDYPY), used a $20 site credit to bet a parlay on the correct score outcomes of both NFL Conference Championship Sunday.
The $20 bet combined a correct score of 27-24 for the Cincinnati Bengals over the Kansas City Chiefs (+13000) and a score of 20-17 for the Rams over the 49ers (+22000).
The $20 bet paid out $579,020.00 with odds of +2895000.
The greatest bet of all time has been CONFIRMED. @FDSportsbook confirms this 29,000 to 1 long shot correct score parlay has hit and has been paid.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 31, 2022
The customer placed it with a $20 site credit. pic.twitter.com/hAQJzPFlFs
Sports betting industry expert Darren Rovell referred to the bet as “the greatest bet of all time." He later confirmed the bet had been paid out by FanDuel and a total of three parlays combined the correct scores of both games and a total of around $800,000 was paid out by FanDuel to bettors.
“It’s truly amazing to see a customer pick the exact score of both Conference Championship games and turn $20 into nearly $580,000,” FanDuel spokesman Kevin Hennessy told The Action Network.
The other parlay bets turned a $5 bet into $145,000 and a $2 bet into $58,000.
Related Link: The Improbable Bet: How One Lucky NFL Fan Turned $50 Into $450K
Why It’s Important: Parlays are one of the most popular bets in the sports betting industry. A parlay combines several outcomes from multiple sporting events. In order for the bet to payout, all legs of the bet have to hit.
Given the multiple legs and how one wrong bet can turn the bet into a loss, parlays often come with high payouts.
Bettors like the parlays as it can lead to some big returns if any are hit. Sports betting operators like parlays as they have a lower success rate than a bet on the spread of a game, which is typically more of a 50% outcome.
Despite losing over $800,000, FanDuel could be a big winner from the bets. The sports betting company is receiving a ton of free press from the unlikely parlay hits and could also see a large number of people bet the correct score of Super Bowl LVI.
FanDuel has odds listed for the correct score of the Super Bowl, while other sports betting companies like DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) don't currently offer odds.
Big sports betting wins during the NFL Playoffs could increase the betting handle on the Super Bowl for sports betting operators and also help boost viewership of the game, set to air on Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA)-owned NBC.
The lowest payout on the correct score of Super Bowl LVI at FanDuel is +12000 with scores of Rams 23 Bengals 20 and Rams 27 Bengals 17, paying $120 profit on a $1 bet. Other popular scores pay out +15000 to +20000. Unlikely score outcomes pay up to +31000, turning a $1 bet into a profit of $310 if the bet hits.
Photo: All-Pro Reels / Flickr
