I really am trying to grow the game by writing about lacrosse betting, and so far I was able to convince my Uncle to place some bets on the PLL Week 2 games since we were headed to the same family event and the games would be on TV. My Uncle is a sports fanatic and was interested in the game, but as we talked we realized DraftKings is really dropping the ball when it come to Lacrosse. Here are some things I think DraftKings needs to fix.
The Big One
From what I can tell from watching old MLL highlights, the 2 point arc has been around since 2003, and honestly if you have a minute you should watch the Best of MLL 2003, But I am here to talk about how DraftKings needs to respect the 2. The above photo of the Friday Night game between the Chaos LC and Waterdogs LC should make over bettor's happy right? They see the Chaos with 8 and the Waterdogs with 13, and they are even showing you that the Over/Under was set at 20.5. The bettor would do some simple math of 8+13=21 and think they have won since 21 is more then 20.5! Sadly they would be mistaken because DraftKings sees 2 point goals as 1 goal towards the over. So in the eyes of DraftKings, 8+13=16 because there were five 2 pointers. Honestly this is the dumbest thing DraftKings/PLL could do. Paul Rabil has mentioned that bringing in the gambling crowd can be huge for the growth of the sport, but if I was a first time PLL bettor and this was my first bet, I would be irate. The broadcast is even teasing you by having the 20.5 right there next to the score. I understand that lacrosse betting is still young, but there is no excuse to not count a 2 pointer as 2 goals. The 2 pointer has been here for 18 years and there have been 2 PLL seasons to get data towards them. This is the most upsetting of the things DraftKings is doing wrong because it may actually push casual viewers away if they have a bad experience with a rule that makes no sense.
No Prop Bets
As I said that not counting 2 pointers may push viewers away, I truly believe that prop bets would bring in casual fans. Plain and simple, Prop bets add a lot more excitement to the game. Whether it be betting on who scores the first goal of the game or if betting on a certain player to have 2+, or 3+ in a single game. They could have a prop of if a Defender will score or if there will be a BTB goal. The possibilities are endless, and I personally would like to throw some money on a SSDM scoring a goal, or even get crazy and have that SSDM have 2+ like Steven DiNapoli. What makes it even worse is they keep promoting these busch league prop bets on the stream and DO NOT have them on the app.
No Live Betting
Paul Rabil has acknowledged that there are a lot of hurdles to jump through to get lacrosse betting and referred to live betting as the Holy Grail of sports betting as it keeps viewers engaged throughout the whole broadcast. I think the PLL would be perfect for live betting as it has a ton of runs and big comeback have happened before and big comeback will happen again. I would have loved to see the Archers with a + in front of their name when they were down 6-1 against the Chaos on Sunday. Paul is at least acknowledging that there is a lot of room for improvement, but lets hope they continue to grow at a fast rate and we see live betting available for lacrosse sooner then later.
No 5 Game Parlay/ Sunday Games Disappear
In week 2 I was feeling confident after a good week 1, and wanted to try my luck at a 5 game parlay. I thought I could pick every game winner for the weekend, but I was unable to bet on the Friday games and the Sunday games. I am going to assume that this is because the 2 teams that play on Friday also play on Sunday and somehow that means you can not bet on the team twice? You can parlay the 4 Saturday and Sunday games though. I also noticed that when I went to look at the Sunday game odds on Sunday, they were not on the app. Again I think it has something to do with the 2 teams that played on Friday, but kinda whack that you need to make your Sunday picks before the games disappear on Saturday night.
They Take Too Long To Put Out Game Odds
As of Monday June 21st at 5pm, there are no game odds out for the weekend games starting Friday June 25th. This is annoying for someone like myself because I try and write about the odds, and especially annoying this weekend because the whole league had a bye week, meaning that DraftKings has had an entire week to look at these games and put something out.
What's Next?
After going 4/5 on Week 1, I went 1/5 on Week 2. Week 3 is another opportunity to make some money and see if I know what I am talking about when it comes to the PLL. I will be traveling down to Baltimore for the games and this will be my first time at Homewood Field, so expect another Diner, Deli, and a Bar review and possibly some video content....
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