We’re counting down the Top 10 betting moments of 2024, and between record-setting tickets and handle counts, late heroics, and improbable streaks, it’s been quite a year.
Add a little controversy, heartbreak, and long-shot winners, and it certainly was a year to remember in 2024.
Join us for a trip down memory lane and our Top 10 betting moments of 2024.
10. The Blessed’s buzzer-beater knockout
The most electric knockout of 2024 was +190 underdog Max “Blessed” Hollway’s buzzer-beater win over BMF Champion Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje in the fifth round of UFC 300 in April. Gaethje was on the wrong end of his nickname this time around, and the final result was a stinger for bettors holding onto tickets for the favorite.
In the other corner, Hollway backers and UFC fans were blessed with a final blow that left the crowd at T-Mobile Arena in a frenzy and long-time UFC color commentator Joe Rogan searching for words.
9. Putter ejects Rory McIlroy from U.S. Open driver’s seat
Rory McIlroy was the betting favorite to win the 2024 U.S. Open at bet365 (+260) following a bogey-free 65 in the opening round, and he then stormed to a two-stroke Sunday lead with five to play before bogeying three of the final four holes.
He couldn’t buy a putt.
Rory missed from two feet six inches on 16, and then again from three feet and nine inches on 18 to open the door for eventual champ Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy was that close to ending a 10-year major championship drought, and he was also the fourth-most bet golfer to win the event at DraftKings.
8. Michigan plants its flag at the Horseshoe as 20.5-point dogs
The defending national champion Michigan Wolverines were a 20.5-point road underdog against the Ohio State Buckeyes for their annual showdown before pulling off one of the all-time upsets in college football history.
Sadly, perhaps the biggest fight the Buckeyes showed was when the Wolverines planted their flag at the 50-yard line and incited a post-game brawl at the Horseshoe.
Of course, the loss cost Ohio State backers their outright tickets to win the Big Ten, but the Buckeyes also went from the +300 betting favorites to win the National Championship to +500 entering the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has now lost four straight to Michigan in “The Game,” with his single win over the program coming all the way back in 2019.
It was also the most-bet game at BetMGM, and 62.7% of the bets and 67.5% of the handle were on the Buckeyes.
7. Jack Gohlke flirts with history to upset Calipari and Kentucky
The 14th-seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies took down the third-seed Kentucky Wildcats 80-76 as a 13.5-point underdog in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March, and the upset added to the list of March Madness hiccups for John Calipari and Kentucky.
Jack Gohlke put the Golden Grizzlies on his back with a 32-point clinic that included dropping threes from all over the court, and his 10 triples were just one shy of tying the tournament record.
Kentucky was also picked to advance to Round 2 in 95% of the ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets, and the Wildcats were picked by 28.84% of participants to make the Final Four and 6.5% of poolies to win the National Championship.
#BracketBusted
6. Zay Flowers’ goal-line fumble starts a string of improbable Chief wins
As the old adage goes “It’s better to be lucky than good”.
The Kansas City Chiefs have taken it to an entirely new level dating back to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flower fumbling at the goal line during the AFC Championship game in January.
It’s been quite a run with tiptoes out of bounds, pass interference calls, missed pass interference calls, fourth quarter and overtime wins, a blocked field goal, and a donked field goal, in addition to a late snap debacle to hold on and win in Week 13.
The Chiefs are up to 11-0 in one-score games this season, have clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and are the betting favorites to win Super Bowl LIX.
5. Jayden Daniels Hail Mary kick-starts Bears’ 0-10 skid
The Chicago Bears took a 4-2 record into their bye and visited the Washington Commanders as in Week 8. Bears back Roschon Johnson punched it in from the one-yard line late to give Chicago the lead, and then quarterback Caleb Williams connected with tight end Cole Emet for a successful two-point conversion.
Chicago led 15-12 with 25 seconds to play and 25 seconds away from a 5-2 start.
However, Washington was able to move the ball to its own 48-yard line for a final play, and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels bought time —
and more time — before throwing up a successful hail mary to the end zone that was batted around before ending up in a wide-open Noah Brown’s hands for the game-winning touchdown.
The Bears haven’t won since and are an underdog in Week 18 against the Green Bay Packers.
4. Caitlin Clark changes WNBA betting
Following Caitlin Clark’s storied NCAA run with the Iowa Hawkeyes, she was the driving force behind a surge of WNBA betting interest.
Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft, and Fever games proceeded to have a 380% increase in the betting handle from the year before. BetMGM data analyst also noted, “If we compared the first 20 games of the NBA and WNBA from the most recent season, Caitlin Clark would rank in the top 10 of player props.”
Of course, Clark wasn’t just a betting sensation. She won the John R. Wooden Award and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. Clark was also recently named the Associated Press' Female Athlete of the Year.
3. Paul vs. Tyson sets record-breaking betting action
History was made in combat sports with the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson bout taking in record-breaking action at multiple sportsbooks.
The in-ring action wasn’t nearly as historic, as the two spared throughout, and bettors were largely let down. BetMGM cited the most popular prop bets by ticket count were Mike Tyson by KO/TKO or DQ (+250), Mike Tyson on points (+1100), and Mike Tyson to win in Round 1 (+1400).
Paul won by decision, and all three judges scored the fight for Paul, 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.
2. Shohei Ohtani/Jontay Porter betting scandals go public
Los Angeles Dodger star Shohei Ohtani and former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter were both tangled up in sports betting scandals this year.
Porter was banned by the NBA for life in April for his role in a betting scandal, in which a group of four men were to profit off tips made by Porter that he would exit two games early. He later also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud Wednesday at an arraignment hearing in New York federal court and admitted to taking part in the scheme to get out of significant gambling debts.
Ohtani avoided similar penalties because his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, claimed the $4.5 million in wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation previously run by Mathew Bowyer in Orange County, California, were made to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt.
Mizuhara explained in a 90-minute ESPN interview,
“He decided to pay it off for me … I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
1. The 2024 US Election
While Donald Trump and the Republican Party were big winners in November, so were bettors, betting markets, and sportsbooks.
The 2024 US Presidential Election took big-time action, and well ahead of election night, the market had Trump pegged as the favorite.
If that doesn’t put any skepticism of the merit of trading teams to rest, how about the fact that the Betfair Exchange has now correctly predicted 23 of the last 25 major elections across the world?
