Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens gave Proline bettors a little extra Christmas cheer.
Jackson threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns while rushing seven times for 45 yards to lead Baltimore to a 33-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Christmas Day. The contest was a showdown between two of the NFL's top teams.
According to the Ontario Gaming and Lottery Corp., 51 per cent of bettors had Baltimore winning although just 43 per cent had the Ravens +4.5 points. But a whopping 72 per cent had the total over 47.5 points.
Also on Monday, the Las Vegas Raiders stunned the Kansas City Chiefs 20-14. Forty-three per cent of customers had Las Vegas +10.5 points but only 15 per cent took the Raiders to win the game outright.
And only 15 per cent took the total under 41.5 points.
On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills kept their playoff hopes alive with a 24-22 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Eighty-five per cent of customers had Buffalo winning the game but only 13 per cent took the Chargers +11.5 points while 77 per cent had the total over 44.5 points.
The following day, the Miami Dolphins punched their playoff ticket with a 22-20 home victory over the Dallas Cowboys. A total of 45 per cent of customers picked Miami to win but 56 per cent took the Cowboys +2.5 points while just 19 per cent selected the total under 50.5 points.
The Baltimore-San Francisco contest was the top event of the week. Four other NFL games rounded out the top five (Las Vegas/Kansas City; Buffalo/L.A. Chargers; New Orleans Saints/L.A. Rams; and the New York Giants/Philadelphia Eagles).
Also on Christmas Day, Luka Doncic had 50 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks past the Phoenix Suns 128-114 in NBA action. Only 24 per cent of bettors took Dallas to win while 35 per cents had the Mavericks +4.5 points.
Anthony Davis scored 40 points but the Boston Celtics still defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115. Seventy-three per cent of bettors picked Boston to win while 63 per cent had the Celtics -4.5.
Meanwhile in Sweden, Canada opened the world junior hockey tournament with a 5-2 win over Finland on Tuesday. The Canadians are chasing a third straight gold medal.
A whopping 92 per cent of customers picked Canada to win. Even more (96 per cent) had Canada -1.5 goals while 98 per cent took the total over 5.5 goals.
A digital customer received a $16,753 payout from a $50 bet placed on a six-pick NFL parlay while a retail player earned $2,529 from a $3 wager on NCAA, NBA and NFL contests. Another retail player received $1,327 from a $5 bet after picking a total of eight NFL-NBA winners.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.
The Canadian Press
