The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues are tied on the scoreboard, but the Bruins are still Stanley Cup favorites. That’s the situation with the NHL Stanley Cup Finals tied at two wins apiece.
There’s been a clear pattern in this series, with the Bruins winning and then losing at home, and the Blues winning and then losing at home. Both teams have had home advantage and given it up again, and now we’re back where we started: Boston heads into game five at the TD Garden on Thursday night with home court advantage and a clear advantage in terms of betting odds.
Bruins Clear Leader in Stanley Cup Finals Betting
We checked out all the top online betting sites and all of them showed the Boston Bruins as Stanley Cup favorites. For example, 888Sport was showing the Bruins as 1.72 favorites to win the series and the championship. The St. Louis Blues were seen as the underdog and were paying a generous 2.18.
Of course, with all the twists and turns in this series, these odds could still change from day to day. A Blues’ win in game five would see the Blues become series favorites heading into game six on their home court. The Bruins are only slightly ahead in game 5 betting and anything could happen.
NHL Betting Has Become Big Business
Sports betting has become big business in recent years, and the NHL has been a part of this explosion. Canada has long had legal online betting, and the introduction of regulated betting markets in most US states has seen the popularity of sports betting explode.
The biggest beneficiaries of the liberalization of sports betting have been fans of the big four sports leagues, who are now able to bet live and pre-game on match results, individual player performances, and countless other scenarios.
Consider that the National Hockey League earns around $700 million annually from its U.S. and Canada TV rights deals. Break that down by 30 teams and that comes to more than $20 million per team, or more than one-quarter of the $75 million salary cap per team.
That’s TV, but what about betting? NHL betting is only really in its infancy, at least in the United States. At the beginning of last year sports betting was only legal in Nevada, but the number has now grown to seven states and looks set to continue growing till it encompasses most states.
In 2009, the U.S. sports betting market was worth $20 billion, but by 2016 it was worth $40 billion and in 2019 it’s estimated to be worth at least $70 billion. With growth of around $10 billion each year, all the big four sports leagues – including the National Hockey League –
are set to reap the dividends. In a few years’ time, NHL betting could be worth as much if not more than the current NHL TV deals with the big networks.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
