Americans' title defence welcome result for most Proline bettors

The United States' successful defence of its world junior hockey championship was welcomed news to many Proline bettors.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., 74 per cent of players picked the U.S. to emerge victorious in its gold medal showdown with Finland on Sunday. But the Americans needed overtime to earn a 4-3 victory in Ottawa.

Eighty-nine per cent of bets correctly picked the game over 5.5 total goals.

The NFL's opening-round playoff matchups are set following the conclusion of the regular season. The Detroit Lions earned the top seed in the NFC with a 31-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

Sixty-five per cent of bettors took the Lions to win while 64 per cent had them on the -2.5 point spread. Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs, with four TDs in the contest, was the third-most popular anytime touchdown scorer and most popular first TD scorer, which he was.

Heading into the playoffs, Detroit is currently the favourite to win the Super Bowl but remains behind Kansas City (22 per cent) as the most-bet on team to capture the NFL title (tied with Buffalo at 13 per cent).

The Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both controlled their destiny, needing a win to secure a playoff berth. Denver did its part with a 38-0 win over Kansas City while Tampa Bay rallied to defeat New Orleans 27-19.

Fifty-two per cent of Proline players took Denver to win whereas a whopping 93 per cent had Tampa Bay emerging victorious.

On Thursday night, sixth-seeded Penn State faces No. 7 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl in NCAA playoff action. Eighty-four per cent of bettors are behind Notre Dame to win with 56 per cent taking the under 45.5 points.

On Friday, eighth-seeded Ohio State takes on No. 5 Texas in the Cotton Bowl, the other playoff semifinal. A whopping 92 per cent of players have the Buckeyes winning while 87 per cent have them -5.5 on the point spread.

And 88 per cent have the game going over 53.5 points.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press