Ready to bet on the spread? A couple of lucky PointsBet.com players tried their luck in Week 1 of the NFL season, and walked away with deeper pockets. With Week 2 on the way, here’s your chance to join them.

PointsBet began as an Australian sportsbook with a unique approach to betting. It was exclusively a spread-betting (or points-betting) service; instead of betting with fixed odds, players would be paid out based on accuracy of their wager. PointsBet now also features fixed odds betting, but spread-betting remains its bread-and-butter.

How It Works

Here’s how spread-betting works: for every point your bet wins by, the wager multiplies. It’s how a PointsBet customer won $600,000 this month on just one game. He bet $30,000 on the Baltimore Ravens at –6. When the team won by 49 points, his $30,000 was multiplied by 43 (49 minus the spread’s 6).

Unfortunately, the player put a cap at a 20-point win/loss. While he bagged a hefty 600K, without the cap he would have won $1.29 million. Even so, it was the biggest payout on a spread bet in PointsBet history.

That guy wasn’t alone in taking advantage of a Week 1 blowout. Another PointsBettor hit it big when he placed $17,800 on the Kansas City Chiefs at -4.5. When Kansas City won by 14 (9.5 points over the spread), this player won too—to the tune of $169,100. These two bets contributed to a huge Week 1 that saw PointsBet hand out over $1 million in winnings.

Place your wager now at PointsBet.com.

‘Perfect Storm’ for PointsBettors

A PointsBet spokesperson called it a “perfect storm. Week 1 of the first NFL season ever with legalized sports betting was bound to produce a really big win with numbers that pop out.”

Spread-betting has been common for a while overseas, but is geared more towards higher-scoring American sports. One week of NFL football has proven it. With basketball season on the horizon, spread-betting will grow in the U.S.

PointsBetting “does appeal to sort of a different type of client,” Johnny Aitken, CEO of PointsBet, told ESPN. “It’s not just about being right, but really right, and being willing to ride out the upside and downside as well, which this product has.”

If the Cap Fits

While there’s a high reward potential to spread-betting, it can be risky too. Losing a bet by a couple of touchdowns can add up just as quickly; hence the option to cap at a certain point value. The cap acts as a security blanket, to make sure a blowout loss doesn’t hurt too bad.

PointsBet is currently licensed in New Jersey and Iowa, with hopes of expanding to New York and Illinois in the near future. With all the media attention and the explosion of sports betting in the U.S., PointsBet has uber-potential to grow as well. If you’re feeling confident in your next bet on the spread, why not give spread-betting a try?

 

And On to Week 2: Keep Your Eye on these Teams

With all this NFL talk, it is only right to discuss the fast-approaching Week 2 and look into some intriguing matchups.

• One matchup worth considering is the Los Angeles Chargers’ and Detroit Lions’ 1 p.m. eastern game on Sunday, September 15. The Chargers are widely considered a top-tier contending team, while the Lions are a middle-of-the-pack to low-end club. With the game taking place in Detroit, the spread is only –2.5 for the Chargers. Just one week after the Chargers beat a solid Indianapolis Colts team and the Lions tied with arguably the worst team in the NFL in the Arizona Cardinals, it’s almost a lock that the Chargers will win by at least a field goal and cover the spread. The Lions have a solid enough offense, but the Chargers’ strong pass rush and secondary should keep them in check to make this bet a solid pick.
• Another favorable matchup in Week 2 is taking place in Oakland. Again, the worse team hosting this matchup makes the spread a little more friendly as the Oakland Raiders otherwise would have no business only being +7 against the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams picked up Week 1 victories, although Oakland’s was far less impressive as it was a close contest against a weak Denver Broncos team. On the other hand, Kansas City behind reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes put up 40 points against a very capable Jacksonville defense. The Chiefs should have no problem escaping this one with a margin of victory north of just one touchdown.
• One more to look for is the Chicago Bears visiting the aforementioned Denver Broncos. In a similar fashion to the Chargers-Lions game, the much better team here is only –2.5 due to a slow Week 1 start (and also being the away team). In this case, the Bears are that team. They look very likely to exceed that 2.5 point margin of victory. Chicago’s very good on both sides of the ball, whereas Denver isn’t too strong on either side. This is another virtual lock.

After an exciting Week 1, we can only hope for more fireworks and headlines this weekend. With some exciting matchups and favorable odds, there’ll be plenty of ways to get in on the action while watching it unfold on your TV or local sportsbook screen while you bet online.

And don’t forget, if you’re confident in any of the spreads mentioned above or otherwise, try your hand at spread betting on PointsBet! Best of luck!