Rigged! Popular Super Bowl LVIII Prop Bet Saw “Suspicious” Betting Activity
All the Hoopla About the Super Bowl LVIII Gatorade Prop Bet
Sharps Bet the Gatorade Color of “Purple” Down
Was there something fishy going on with the Super Bowl LVIII Gatorade prop bet? By the looks of what happened, someone got the drop on what the color would be when the winning team, Kansas City in this one, would bathe their coach with it. In this case, “Purple” Gatorade won and was bet down from +275 to -130 by kickoff per several popular sportsbooks.
Purple Rain: Why The Color Got Bet Down
Of course, no concrete evidence exists that the Super Bowl LVIII Gatorade prop bet was “rigged.” However, it is likely that some “insiders” leaked this information, which was then picked up by sharp bettors across the best online sportsbooks.
This prop bet had a total handle percentage greater than its percentage of total bets on DraftKings. This means that despite the few bets, they were “sharp money,” hence why DK and BetMGM, among other books, quickly moved their betting lines. The latter reported 17 percent of the handle on the color despite being only seven percent of total bets.
Another sportsbook, Fanatics, reported that a whopping 60 percent of the overall money went to the color purple. It was the most lopsided Super Bowl bet. While the Gatorade prop is one of the most popular non-football types on the market, this statistic raises eyebrows.
Users online have offered many theories about how this prop bet became juiced, pardon the pun. Some say the “color of the Super Bowl logo,” as tipped by sports betting pundits. Another X user, @DailyHitman, shared a message where an “insider” tipped off the color purple is the one left for the “big game.”
PURPLE GATORADE FOR THE WIN pic.twitter.com/qmD1DaOC1R
— Hammer DAHN (@HammerDAHN) February 12, 2024
The Aftermath: Will the Gatorade Prop Bet Be Outlawed?
When suspicious betting activity like this happen, it tends to create changes across the industry. Even if sportsbooks put low betting limits on these types of bets, some may take the initiative to just abstain from it to avoid future occurrences.
State-approved sportsbooks tend to not offer these types of bets. Only six states and Washington, D.C., let operators offer these prop bets. The other 32 legal states have banned it. But many sportsbooks want to keep offering it due to its popularity.
“With novelty props like Gatorade bath, the trading team monitors both action on the prop and social media,” a BetMGM spokesperson told The Post. “If it appears the outcome may be known, the market will be shut down. This is similar to other prop markets, like a player’s next team.”
Indeed, even if there was significant one-way action on the Super Bowl LVIII Gatorade prop bets, books still kept it online.
“We will continue to offer the Gatorade bath as long as it is approved by regulators. This prop bet is popular with customers.”
Folks could have opened a betting account, availed of all the sportsbook bonuses, and bet everything on the prop. They’d have “one-upped” the bookies and got easy coin. But don’t expect this to be a common occurrence.
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