Is the NFL 17-Game Schedule Great for Books and Bettors?

In case you missed it, the NFL 17-game schedule will begin in the 2021-22 NFL regular season. While a lot of the players project their disappointment with the league in adding a game to their schedules, football fans around the world don’t mind the additional game as it provides an extra weekend of football action before the playoffs begin.

The booming industry of sports gambling can only benefit from a 17th NFL game per team being added. With the way the Vegas system is set up, both books and bettors gain incentive with an additional game.

In the end, Vegas always wins.

Here’s how that works

Bettors placing wagers on the 17th game either win or lose their bets. If the individual is somehow lucky and wins their wager, then they collect their winnings immediately. Therefore, the bettor now has more money that would essentially provide them a way to win more in the future, or what Vegas hopes, lose.

There is a common myth that there is such a thing as a ‘smart bettor.’ In each game, there are people betting on multiple sides of the game, so there are some winners and some losers. Find someone that has never lost a bet in their betting career. Good luck!

Is the NFL 17-Game Schedule Great for Books and Bettors?

Vegas benefits from the 17th game because it gives its audience another opportunity to win big or lose even bigger. Bettors win games and, without hesitation, place another bet immediately. It’s as simple as saying, ‘Gambling is an addiction.’ Gamblers don’t know how to stop and lack a great deal of self-control.

Argument Against 17th Game for Books

While a 17th game being added should serve books right, there is a 1% chance that it works against them. From each week of football, the average fan learns a large amount about each team, what they’re capable of as well as what their weaknesses are. Perhaps, professional bettors take away something crucial from the 17th week and ultimately leads to a big future win in the playoffs.

Another myth surrounding sports gambling is that Vegas only profits. Believe it or not, but there are times where Vegas sportsbooks take a huge hit from bettors. A lot of that depends on the size of the wager a bettor places.

There can be multiple, relatively small-sized wagers on one team, but if there are a couple of large wagers on the winning team, then Vegas essentially loses due to the fact that they had to pay out the winners more than the money they collected from the losing bettors.

While the players seem annoyed with the NFL’s decision of adding a 17th game to the regular season, bookmakers and bettors are excited for the opportunity of an extra week of football to watch and bet on. An extra week means a lot of potential money to be made both for the Vegas books and the bettors. While it’s extremely likely Vegas benefits more than the bettor, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see in the 2021-22 NFL season.