NFL teams settling for field goals on Sunday purportedly proved very costly for one of the biggest sports betting sites in the U.S.
FanDuel offered a +20000 parlay last weekend that required every team playing in the 1:00 p.m., 4:05 p.m., and 4:25 p.m. ET games on Sunday to score one or more field goals to cash.
And, lo and behold, that’s what happened.
The barrage of field goals on Sunday forced FanDuel, according to its account on X, the former Twitter, to pay out more than $20 million to customers who placed the bet.
KICKERS FOR THE WIN! ????
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 18, 2023
Every NFL team made at least 1 FG during the afternoon slates of Week 2...
Finance team just called: we're paying out more than $20 MILLION to FanDuel customers who locked in this bet! ???? pic.twitter.com/ZBOMGe8bYq
These kinds of losses come with the territory when it comes to legal sports betting, as companies such as FanDuel can see their financial results fluctuate with the scores on the field.
In 2022, for example, FanDuel's parent company, Flutter Entertainment PLC, reported it saw "bookmaker friendly sports results" in the U.S. during the three months that ended September 30, "which we reinvested in promotional generosity for our customers."
FanDuel has also had some costly liabilities hanging over its head in the past, such as a Super Bowl same-game parlay touted by its former partner, Pat McAfee, that could have cost it almost $50 million. That parlay lost, but Sunday’s did not, prompting the hefty payout.
