NFL Bets: Cleveland Browns Favored First Time Since 2015, Injury Reports Help Gamblers

Posted on: September 21, 2017, 02:00h. 

Last updated on: September 21, 2017, 04:53h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

The Cleveland Browns have played 21 regular season games since the last time they were favored in Las Vegas ahead of a matchup. That changes this week, as the Westgate SuperBook and other Nevada and online oddsmakers believe the Dog Pound will come out on top against the Andrew Luck-less Indianapolis Colts.

Cleveland Browns NFL odds sports betting
The Cleveland Browns are hoping to celebrate their first win of the season on Sunday. Las Vegas oddsmakers think they’ve actually got a decent chance. (Image: Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com)

The line is currently giving the Colts 1.5 points, despite the game being played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Both teams have begun the season 0-2, but in Cleveland’s two losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, the team has shown some glimmers of hope.

That said, bettors aren’t finding some renewed faith in the Browns. After opening as a 2.5-point favorite, the line has shrunk by a point as gamblers put money on the Colts.

With a win on Sunday, the Browns would match their season win total from a year ago after finishing 1-15.

Injury Reports

Never one to bite his tongue, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman raised some eyebrows yesterday when he told reporters that the primary purpose of injury reports is to inform sports bettors and oddsmakers in Las Vegas.

“From what I understand, the rule is for the gamblers … to make sure that the odds and everything are what they’re supposed to be, which is apparently what the league is concerned about when talking about injuries,” Sherman opined. “So maybe somebody should look into that, because I thought we weren’t a gambling league and we were against all those things. But our injury report is specifically to make sure the gamblers get their odds right.”

The NFL requires teams to disclose any “significant or noteworthy” injury on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday ahead of Sunday games.

In a statement to The Seattle Times, the NFL responded to Sherman, “The decades-old policy is in place to ensure that all clubs provide accurate and timely information to other clubs, the public and media about every player’s availability. It is designed for competitive fairness purposes and curtails the potential for someone to attempt to gain and exploit inside information.”

The league went on to say that without such policy, a player or member of a team would be at jeopardy of being approached by a third-party to gain inside knowledge.

Told by one reporter that injury reports are also used in daily fantasy sports (DFS), Sherman injected, “Fantasy football, oh my god. They are almost as bad as the gamblers.”

Ironically, Sherman is sponsored by DRAFT, a DFS site.

Week 3

Las Vegas sportsbooks are hoping for better results in the third week of the NFL season. Most oddsmakers lost money in week two, as favorites went 6-2 during the early games.

The Patriots easily covered a 6.5-point spread in New Orleans, and with nearly 80 percent of the money on the defending Super Bowl champs at William Hill, the win was a big loss to casinos.

Always a popular team to bet on, oddsmakers have lengthened the Patriots’ odds to 13.5 points for their home game against the 1-1 Houston Texans this Sunday.