Exclusive: Darren Rovell On Sports Rights For World Cup, US Odds To Win And 'Ridiculous' Bets On US
After missing out on the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. Men’s National team is one of 32 teams featured in the 2022 World Cup. Sports betting expert Darren Rovell shared thoughts on the U.S. team’s chances, the sports betting market for soccer and on the company airing the game in the U.S.
What Happened: Media company Fox Corp (NASDAQ: FOX)(NASDAQ: FOXA) has the rights to air the 2022 World Cup games in the U.S. Given the U.S. team is in, viewership could be up significantly over 2018.
Fox also has the rights to NFL games, Major League Baseball Playoffs and in February, will air Super Bowl LVII.
“I mean obviously this is what you want. This is where you can make the money,” Rovell of Action Network told Benzinga.
Rovell said normally it was hard to say “was it worth it,” but the evolution of sports betting had helped.
“Sports betting makes it a little bit better when spending for sports rights fees. They need to see it live.”
Sports rights used to be part of the content on television that was fading with a new generation preferring streaming, Rovell added.
“If you’re betting live, you need to see it coming off of a TV. Betting makes it more essential to have it coming off of TV.”
Related Link: Want To Know Who Will Win The 2022 World Cup? Video Game That Predicted Last Three Winners Says This Team
Betting on Soccer, U.S.: Rovell said the betting market in the U.S. is used to having NFL, NCAA Football and MLB matches where there are enough stoppages in time to make additional live bets.
“I think soccer is just not the greatest sport to bet,” Rovell said. “It’s not as easy to bet in a soccer game as American games with stoppage in plays.”
The U.S. team faces tough odds to reach the advanced stage in the World Cup with many sportsbooks having the U.S. with odds of +100 or higher to advance from Group B, where the top two of four teams will move on to the elimination rounds.
“Ridiculous that the U.S. getting so many bets. People have their rooting interests.”
Rovell said the U.S. is listed at 100 to 1 to win the 2022 World Cup at Caesars Sportsbook, a unit of Caesars Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ: CZR). The U.S. has 10.2% of the handle at Caesars.
Argentina, one of the top favorites is listed at 6.5 to one and has 22% of the handle.
“Argentina getting two times the money despite the fact that they’re 15 times more likely to win the World Cup.”
Rovell said he would likely do some live betting during the World Cup but probably not any pre-match betting.
While Rovell said soccer is a sport where one or two mistakes can lead to a change in the winner, he doesn’t see the U.S. having good odds of going far.
“I don’t think we have the talent to really make a dent.”
Photo: Unsplash
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