The Supreme Court ruled that sports betting is a matter for states to decide. With sports gambling about to take off, here are the five best college football bets for 2018.
On May 14, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in a landmark ruling. This move paves the way for the legalization of sports betting in the United States. As a result, gambling on sporting events will soon become legal on a state-by-state basis.
One sport that will almost certainly see heightened interest is college football. When it comes to betting on intercollegiate sports, college basketball and March Madness draw much of the attention. But tens of billions of dollars are wagered illegally on football at all levels each year, and the shift toward legalization will allow states to draw much-needed revenue through new gambling taxes.
It will also make it that much easier for fans to place wagers on their favorite teams. One will no longer need to travel to Nevada to legally place bets. Five states have already passed legislation to legalize sports gambling, and bills have been introduced in 14 other states. Among those that are looking to legalize sports betting in their states are California, Illinois, and New York.
How will this impact the 2018 season?
By the time the college football season begins, betting could be live in places like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi. But thanks to the fact that sports betting had already been grandfathered in for Nevada, we already have a good idea of where teams stand entering the 2018 season in the eyes of the sharps that set the betting lines.
Here are the five best bets entering the 2018 college football season. In making these selections, we took into account an average of odds from five major sportsbooks, as well as conference affiliation, schedule, and the degree of difficulty for each team in terms of reaching the College Football Playoff.
You won’t find teams like Alabama (9/4 odds), Clemson (6/1), or Ohio State (15/2) here. There is certainly a reason why each of the past three national champions are included on this list of contenders. But this list is intended to show you where the real values might lie beyond the big favorites.
(Odds averaged from data provided by Sportsbook Review)