What Were the Best Bets for the Bettor in 2022?

We’ve gone over the most bet on games, the top notable bets of 2022, and the most bet NFL games of the past year at BetMGM, with the big events like the Super Bowl, NFL Conference Championship Games, the World Series, and collegiate title games getting the lion’s share of the action. 

The same goes for events that were profitable for the books. That top ten includes three NFL postseason games and a pair of National Championship Games in Georgia’s win over Alabama and Kansas’s over North Carolina.

But are those the best games for the customers? Where should we be putting our money?

The most profitable game for the bettors was a postseason event, but not in the Final 4, as the Sweet 16 upset of Purdue by St. Peter’s (67-64) cost the books the most money in 2022. Third on the list is the USA’s monster World Cup win over Iran to advance to the knockout round. 

Cinderella and country. You’d have to hate America or hate fun to have the other side in either contest. I must confess, I was not on the side of fun as Shaheen Holloway and his Peacocks advanced to the Elite 8.  

But that’s it regarding big events resulting in big payouts at the ticket window.

Nestled between the memorable run by St. Peter’s and USMNT’s biggest win on the pitch in over a decade was a regular season National Football League game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Bucs (41-31, won by KC). One of four regular-season NFL games in the top ten.

Big brands were involved, as No. 4 was the New England Patriots at the Minnesota Vikings, No. 5 was the Vikings at the Green Bay Packers, and the Dallas Cowboys at the New York Giants checked in at No. 7. But no postseason NFL matchups resulted in beaucoup bucks for bettors.

The four remaining games among the most profitable for the customer were all NBA contests, two in the regular season and two in the playoffs.

Both regular season games involved the Milwaukee Bucks. A 137-113 beatdown of the Los Angeles Clippers on February 6 was No. 6, and two days later came No. 9, when the Bucks completed their sweep of the City of Angels with a 131-116 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. 

A new spin to “I love LA” for one bettor.

Two NBA playoff games did crack this top ten, both in the first round, both series-clinching wins. The Philadelphia 76ers 132-97 over the Toronto Raptors was No. 8, and the Dallas Mavericks 98-96 over the Utah Jazz on the same day was No. 10.

What did I learn from this little exercise? We shouldn’t save our biggest bets for the biggest games. None of the top ten best games for the customer were a championship game, a semifinal, or even a quarterfinal match.