The DraftKings Sportsbetting National Championship is the Ultimate Live Sports Betting Event! $2,500,000 GUARANTEED WITH OVER $1,000,000 TO THE WINNER DraftKings first ever Sports Betting National Championship will take place over three days during the NFL Divisional Weekend JANUARY 11-13. DraftKings Sportsbook is pleased to announce an exciting new promotion, the 2019 DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (hereinafter, the 'SBNC Promotion' or “SBNC”), exclusively for DraftKings Sportsbook Players (“Contestants”).
For one weekend, Jersey City might be considered the hub of the sports betting in the U.S. The inaugural DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC) kicked off Friday in the Garden State, drawing hundreds of sports bettors to a first-of-its-kind contest that boasts a $1 million top prize.
Bettors flew in from all over the country to put down the $10,000 entry fee for the event. A total of 242 entries were listed on the DraftKings leaderboard Saturday morning.
- Matt specializes in NFL, College Football, College Basketball, XFL, and MMA. With GPP victories across the major sports, Matt also qualified for the DraftKings 2020 Sports Betting Championship and won a seat to the College Basketball Tourney Mania final.
- The DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship will bring several lucky contestants to New Jersey to hash out a three-day sports betting frenzy. How the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship works. Players who win entry to the championship will receive $5,000 in their sports betting accounts to use during the.
- We are regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement as an Internet gaming operator in accordance with the Casino Control Act N.J.S.A. 5:12-1 and its implementing.
Still, participation is well behind pace to hit the $2.5 million guaranteed prize pool. Registration is open until 4:35 p.m. ET on Saturday. Johnny Avello, director of sportsbook operations at DraftKings, told TheLines this week that the company was prepared for the possibility of overlay and was “OK” with that.
Betting action resumes Saturday and continues through Sunday with the conclusion of the Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints game, at which point the first DraftKings SBNC winner will be crowned.
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Day 1 leaderboard
A player under the DraftKings username “johnstorz” led the way after Day 1, turning his original $5,000 bankroll into $30,877.75 on Friday. Johnstorz hit a four-team NBA/NHL parlay for more than $17,000 to take a sizeable lead into Day 2 of the contest. He also nailed a three-team NBA parlay for $7,300.
Meanwhile, 10 players finished the opening day with nothing left in their bankroll. Among those going broke was Alex “Awesemo” Baker, who put his entire $5,000 bankroll on the under in the Atlanta Hawks vs. Philadelphia 76ers game. Baker told TheLines this week: “I think you have to take a very high-variance approach with nearly half the money going to first.” He wasn’t fibbing.
Below is the top 10 on the leaderboard after Day 1. Up-to-the-minute updates can be found here.
Day 2 look-ahead
With Sunday betting for this event limited to only the two NFL playoff games, this expanded Saturday menu of sports and games could be the decider in crowning the first champion of this event. Here’s what bettors will find on the DraftKings Sportsbook app:
Soccer: Seven English Premier League (EPL) games plus four La Liga matches create a juicy soccer slate for bettors. How many contestants were up at the crack of dawn Saturday betting on the West Ham vs Arsenal game? We’ll have updates on that during the Day 2 Live Blog on Saturday.
NFL: Two divisional round games expect to capture the most attention from entrants in the Sports Betting National Championship. No shortage of props and in-game options for these games. The football action kicks off at 4:35 p.m. ET with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Indianapolis Colts. The Rams and Cowboys will follow in Los Angeles at 8:15 p.m. ET.
NBA: Eight NBA games also figure to be popular with bettors. The pro hardwood action starts at 3:30 p.m. ET with the Pistons and Clippers. Bulls/Jazz and Hornets/Kings close out the Saturday schedule at 10 p.m. ET.
NHL: The 12-game NHL schedule starts at 1 p.m. ET with a pair of east coast games in New York and New Jersey. Puckheads have plenty of options to fire on Saturday.
College basketball: Here’s where the sharps could separate themselves. More than 140 Division 1 games are scheduled for Saturday. While not all of them will be on the betting board, regular college hoops bettors could find an edge here. The first games tip off at noon ET.
Golf: The third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii tees off in the afternoon. A wide selection of player props and matchups are available as well as live winner odds.
How the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship works
- All participants must be located in New Jersey when placing bets for the contest.
- The buy-in for the event is $10,000 (more than 80 qualified on DraftKings leading up to the event). Each participant begins with a DK-funded $5,000 bankroll. The remaining portion of the buy-in goes toward the prize pool (minus a $300 contest fee).
- Bets can be placed on any sport on the DraftKings app Friday or Saturday. However, on Sunday only the two NFL divisional playoff games are available for the championship event. Betting closes upon the kickoff of the second NFL divisional playoff game on Sunday.
- Players must wager at least $1,000 on Friday and Saturday, and at least $2,000 on Sunday.
- All types of bets are in play, including straight bets, parlays, teasers, and props.
- Those requirements must be met in order for participants to retain a spot on the official leaderboard and qualify for the $1,000,000 grand prize, or for the subsequent payouts for lower finishes.
- The player with the biggest bankroll at the end of the weekend is determined the grand prize winner. Subsequent spots on the leaderboard will also be determined by bankroll size.
- The prize pool will be at least $2.5 million, with each direct buy-in above 531 entries increasing the prize pool by $4,700 apiece.
- Only one entry is allowed per person.
- All players take home the sum total of their bankroll at the end of the weekend. Those who have kept their leaderboard eligibility are also awarded any money they’ve earned through that channel.
Follow TheLines for updates
Our team will be on site Saturday and Sunday to cover the remainder of the DraftKings Sports Betting Championship. Follow the live blog here at TheLines for leaderboard updates, player interviews, photos and videos from the event, and more. And be sure to follow TheLines on Twitter for frequent updates all weekend.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes are the last two teams standing for tonight’s CollegeFootball PlayoffNational Championship.
One team was a season-long front-runner while the other overcame COVID-19 issues.
And here they are, highly favored Alabama and underdog Ohio State, both undefeated and clashing for the national championship title. Both have significant wagering cache with the NJ sports betting crowd.
Here is a closer at the matchup and NCAA National Championship Game odds.
Breaking down Alabama vs. Ohio State
Alabama is 12-0 and favored in the nine-point range across NJ sportsbook apps. Besides being at the top of the rankings most of the year, they are the BCS No. 1 seed. The Crimson Tide defeated Notre Dame 31-14 in the semifinals.
Ohio State, 7-0, almost didn’t qualify for the BCS because it had only played five games entering the final regular-season weekend. It notched No. 6, entered the four-team championship and then scored a significant upset over Clemson, 49-28, as a seven-point dog.
The Crimson Tide attracted the early love of the bettors even at high odds. Here are some key numbers:
- Alabama garnered 68% of the DraftKings Sportsbook handle entering the weekend.
- Alabama also secured a majority on the moneyline at 56%, despite its seemingly prohibitive line of -315.
- Ohio State is an attractive +240 if it can deliver the upset.
- The over-under of 75.5 has appealed to the under crowd, with 65% thinking the total will go under.
Alabama averages a little more than 48 points per game compared to 43 for Ohio State.
Alabama gives up 19 points per contest, Ohio State 22. The betting crowd seems to be of the belief that defenses will rise to the occasion in this game.
Ohio State has a decided rushing advantage of 272 yards per game compared to 185 for Alabama.
NJ sportsbooks + National Championship game
From an NJ sports wagering perspective, bettors have a number of options, including a number of different props.
At DraftKings, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones is expected to throw at least three touchdown passes. The over 3.5 was paying -103 and the under was -125 as of early this morning.
Justin Fields of Ohio State has a -129 marker for over 2.5 touchdown passes, while the under was +120. He threw a whopping six in the game of his life in Ohio State’s thrashing of Clemson.
If you take the under in either case, you are hoping for a running back or even a quarterback sneak to steal one of the tallies.
Seeking value for the big names? They will have to be the first touchdown scorer.
On the FanDuel Sportsbookside, Fields’ over-under passing yardage is set at 290.5, with the price at -113. This is a playable bet, especially if you believe he can duplicate the 385-yard total from the Clemson game.
Jones has a standard of 365.5 yards. The over is -120, and the under is -106.
Note the difference between FanDuel and DraftKings if you like the yardage prop. Fields is 309.5 at DraftKings and 290.5 at FanDuel. Jones is 380.5 at DraftKings and 365.5 at FanDuel.
On the touchdown end, Jones has a standard of 3.5, with the over at -128 and the under at -102.
Fields has a playable number at 2.5 touchdowns, with the over at -120 and the under at -106.
Johnny Avello says betting is going well
Ohio State has been the Cinderella team in this matchup.
After making the postseason, the Buckeyes turned in a masterful performance against Clemson. They were unstoppable, amassing a whopping 639 yards. Pretty high numbers for a team getting more than a touchdown in the final.
All that did was spike wagering expectations for this showdown. Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, told NJ Gambling Sites the betting for this game is really going well.
“This is probably going to the biggest handle for a single college football game of all time,” said Avello. “The reason is because the matchup is great. Any time Ohio State is involved in a game, that team seems to be a money magnet. People just love to bet Ohio State, especially with points. We expect to see plenty of Ohio State action.”
The betting sentiment bears him out. The Sugar Bowl, involving Ohio State and Clemson, was DraftKings’ most-wagered bowl game of the season. Alabama-Notre Dame was second.
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Ohio State gets the opportunity to complete a season-long redemption mission. The Buckeyes were beaten in the BCS semifinal 29-23 last year by Clemson after having a 16-0 lead. They avenged the Clemson loss and now seek the Holy Grail.
Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship
“They could not stop thinking about that earlier Clemson game since they lost it,” Avello said. “And then some experts came out and called them the 11th best team in the country, and you know they didn’t like that.”
Looking at Justin Fields and Ohio State
There’s another interesting element to this game from a wagering standpoint.
Fields had an outstanding game against Clemson
It was the game of his career. He tossed six — count ’em, six — touchdown passes. Two of them were bombs.
“Fields is a talented kid,” Avello observed. “I like him a lot. He has a good presence on the field, and he has an awareness of his receivers, and yet there’s another way to look at this. He threw some passes in that game against Clemson in which a fingernail could have separated whether the pass was complete or incomplete. …
“The question is whether he is going to be able to duplicate that against this Alabama team.”
Bettors will soon find out.
As far as watching the game goes, we are hours away from kickoff.
A great matchup tomorrow in The Sunshine State. ☀️@OhioStateFB@AlabamaFTBL#CFBPlayoff x #RollTide x #GoBuckeyespic.twitter.com/CoJiBAsHDt
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 10, 2021
Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship Leaderboard
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky