Daily Sports Betting Preview 3/25/2020: Stock Market and Lottery Betting

• Many sports leagues are not running, so the Preview has pivoted to finding interesting bets to fill the days of its readers.
• Some sportsbooks are offering odds on the stock market in hourly increments – close to even odds to boot.
• Lottery betting allows those from all over the globe to get a cut of the lottery action by betting on it.

NEW YORK - Welcome to the Daily Sports Betting Preview! Today, the Preview goes a little bit off of the beaten path, as many sports leagues are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, for now, consider this the Daily Sports Betting Preview, with “Sports” remaining a focus, but a little less of one than before. For today, the preview focuses on some unconventional entertainment betting odds.

Today’s Preview covers two unique betting opportunities that are outside of the realm of sports. First, stock market betting has taken the world by storm, as sportsbooks offer chances to bet, at close to even odds, on whether various stock indices (as well as specific stocks) will be up or down in certain time frames.

Second, some sportsbooks have opened up betting on specific events in specific state-run lotteries, from the Red Powerball number to the New York Lottery numbers. This can be a nice way to spice up a day spent at home.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Betting On The Stock Market

As many people know, the stock market has demonstrated great volatility at this time. However, some sportsbooks have opened up betting on it in very interesting ways.

For example, at Bovada’s sportsbook, the following bet is available, closing at 11:55 a.m. EST.

The fact that there are even odds on this is really interesting. In effect, this is a way to bet on or bet against the major stock indices, with relatively decent odds.

There are bets like this for almost all hours of the day in which the stock market is open, so if any bettor has an inclination as to where the trends will be headed, this is a good way to place those bets.

One thing to keep in mind is many of the major stock indices, including the Dow Jones, have futures markets, where people are effectively speculating on the future of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

This futures market can be an interesting tool to predict what will happen when trading opens. It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on the markets in times like this – but now, from home, bettors can participate in watching them and maybe make some money too.

Betting On The Lottery

As sports bettors, many readers of this column should be familiar with the state-run lottery. In many states, lotteries are one of the only forms of state-sponsored gambling.

Some online sportsbooks are allowing people to place bets on specific Powerball occurrences. These are truly chance bets – bets based entirely on whether or not a random event will occur.

For example, consider the following bet, from Bovada’s sportsbook:

This is a very straightforward bet. There are 26 possible options for what the Red Powerball could come up as on a given day, and each of those options has been given +2100 odds.

This means that in theory, a bettor could bet a unit on up to 20 of these, and remain profitable if one of those 20 hit. This would be roughly a 76% chance bet – perhaps not worth it for only a unit’s profit, but it’s a pretty hyperbolic example. There are other, more simple bets available as well.

Here there are some seriously short odds. If any bettor wants a part of a jackpot, this is an interesting bet to consider. Overall, there are a lot of things to keep in mind when betting on the lottery, and when betting on the stock market.

One big thing to remember, though, is that it’s fairly interesting that opportunities like this get highlighted – and one of the ways in which the world is changing during this trying time.

Stay safe, and remember to wash your hands!