Packers-Seahawks game calls so bad even the sportsbooks are squawking
Game calls by replacement officials are so bad that it is moving the betting line on NFL games, and on the odds teams will make the post season.
Kevin Bradley, Sportsbook Manager for bovada.lv, released this statememt on last night’s refereeing debacle in the Seattle Seahawks - Green Bay Packers game:
"Never have I seen such an egregious call that represented such a huge swing in money. With 75% of pre-game action on the Packers, last night’s game-ending play goes down as one of the most significant last minute money swings in recent betting memory, and certainly the most controversial. Even the Super Bowl odds have been impacted as the Packers went from 7/1 to 17/2 and the Seahawks went from 60/1 to 30/1.It’s unfortunate that the referees and not the players are determining outcomes of NFL games."
Read between the lines to deduce that sportsbooks lost money, a lot I would guess, in the botched call that awarded the game to Seattle. Bookies are very good at setting the line on random events that affect games – that now incudes calls by officials. An over/under line on the number of bad calls per game is sure to come.
The league should not manage the game for the best interest of gamblers. Returning competent game officials to the field is in everyone's best interest, none more than the NFL itself.
NFL source: More than 70,000 voicemails were left at NFL offices last night.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 25, 2012
NFL.com - NFL supports decision to not overturn Seahawks' touchdown.
"The result of the game is final."
Um, yeah.
