An online sports betting site called Fanduel has been advertising HARD here in Michigan over the past month or so. Constant TV commercials and I’m getting online ads for it as well.
In the latest commercial they make an offer for an upcoming fight- bet $1 on either opponent, and if you win you get $100. This seems easily scammable, so I’m sure there’s a catch. I imagine betting on both guys is not allowed, but what’s to stop me and a buddy from each betting $1 on opposite fighters and splitting the $98 profit? I’m guessing there’s also a requirement, conveniently not mentioned in the commercial, that you have to also bet X amount on other stuff to qualify for the teaser offer.
I have no interest in getting sucked into online gambling, just mildly curious.
They’ve been all over the airwaves here in Philly too. Ive been wondering the same thing.
Yesterday, I read that a man who ran across the field at the Super Bowl had later bragged that he bet $50,000 that a fan would run on to the field. Various agencies then froze various bettors accounts. It’s apparently against their rules to make such a bet and then run across the field yourself.
I’m not familiar with this particular offer, but there’s a couple if things going on.
Sites like this usually require you to deposit a bank before you use the site. And the majority of bettors will eventually lose their bank. So, they may be willing to give a 20% discount to get you to lose $400. (Deposit $500 to start membership, win $100 on first bet, then go on to lose the remaining $400). Plus they get the interest on your deposit. It’s like the bank giving you a toaster when you open a savings account.
And the $100 “win” may be only in “site bucks” so you can’t actually walk away with your win.
The FanDuel catch (and most like it) is that the $100 that you win is in promotional vouchers - so you have to then bet that $100 to essentially launder it into redeemable cash money. You cannot bet both sides of a game to get 50% back, but you can usually find some lopsided games to bet the straight money to get it back. FanDuel gives you the wager back on the promo, MGM does not (i.e. if you’re betting $10 in promos on a -1000 line, you get $11 back on FanDuel, but just $1 on MGM).
If you’re a responsible gambler, you may find it beneficial to keep $25 in your account. FanDuel very regularly runs promotions that essentially guarantees free money. For instance, they’ll increase the line on a game by a point for every 1000 people that bet on it - and it has always gotten to an absurdly high level. So for instance, UNLV can lose by 174 points, and everyone still wins. The winnings in those promos pay back in real money.
Thanks @Munch, great info. The $100 being in vouchers explains it. From the other stuff you said though, FanDuel sounds unusually generous for a gambling site. But I’m sure they have a reliable formula for the ‘house’ to always win in the long run.
Looks like DraftKings is currently running a similar “pound the over” promo on the Lakers game tonight. The over is now down to 0, so there needs to be at least a point scored to win a max of $25. I’ll report back if it’s in promo vouchers, or cash.
There’s currently a promotion going on right now for March Madness. Every 2500 bettors for Michigan State (the game’s on Thursday) move the line one point. It’s currently +28.5 at -110 odds, and the spread will likely end at tipoff well over 100.5. Betting now will give you the spread at tipoff. Maximum bet is $50, so this is essentially a risk-free $45.45.