TORONTO — It's one of the NHL's most storied rivalries but games involving the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are also popular with Proline bettors.
Auston Matthews' three goals led Toronto to a 6-5 shootout victory over Montreal last week. According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the contest was Proline's highest wagered hockey event of that week.
While Toronto won the game, it didn't cover the -1.5 spread, much to the chagrin of the 70 per cent of customers who bet the Leafs' way. The over-under split was relatively even with 48 per cent of customers selecting the eventual over.
The most popular player prop bet was Matthews over 0.5 goals.
On Monday night, heralded Chicago rookie Connor Bedard made his Toronto debut. Bedard didn't register a point but the Blackhawks defeated the Maple Leafs 4-1 in the second-most popular NHL game of this week.
Toronto took 78 per cent of bets on the moneyline. Matthews over 0.5 goals was the most popular player prop bet but he didn't score, which was bad news for 95 per cent of bettors who took him. The second-most popular player prop bet was Bedard over 3.5 shots which he did accomplish, delighting the 99 per cent of wagers who correctly predicted it.
The top event of the week was the Sunday night NFL game between the New York Giants and Buffalo. The Bills earned a 14-9 victory and took the bulk of the action — 85 per cent on the moneyline and 76 per cent on the -14.5 spread.
Just 15 per cent of bets came in on the under 43.5 points. Bills receiver Stefon Diggs was the most popular anytime TD bet but didn't score.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen's total passing yards was the most popular prop bet, with 77 per cent of wagers on the over 264.5 yards. But Allen finished 19-of-30 passing for 169 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The highest selling non-prime-time NFL event was the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. Texas won the first two games 2-0 and 5-4 before Houston emerged victorious 8-5 in the third contest.
Houston entered the series as the slight favourite, which was reflected in the relatively even 58 per cent of bets it took on the moneyline. The Astros -1.5 was also slightly more popular at 57 per cent but the Rangers won on both accounts.
The National League Championship Series between Arizona and Philadelphia started as well but wasn't as popular as the ALCS. The Phillies lead 2-0 following 6-3 and 10-0 victories.
A decided 74 per cent of moneyline bets came in on the favoured Phillies as did 77 per cent of runline bets (-1.5). They won and covered.
The over 7.5 was more popular at 60 per cent, which bettors got right as well.
A Proline Plus player earned $96 on a $1 bet by successfully selecting Bhutan to beat Hong Kong, and Latvia to down Turkey (in under-21 action) in soccer qualifiers. Both were decided underdogs.
Another Proline Plus customer won $9,678 from a $100 wager by successfully selecting an eight-team parlay (NFL and NHL) while a third turned a $5 wager into $2,179 with a five-leg parlay that involved NHL games as well as player prop bets.
And a Proline Retail player collected $4,027 from an $800 wager by predicting the outcome of three soccer legs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.
The Canadian Press
