{"id":98351,"date":"2019-02-15T09:44:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T17:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=98351"},"modified":"2019-02-15T10:13:23","modified_gmt":"2019-02-15T18:13:23","slug":"aaf-off-to-fast-start-with-both-bettors-and-viewers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aaf-off-to-fast-start-with-both-bettors-and-viewers\/","title":{"rendered":"AAF Off to Fast Start as Bettors Triple up on Expected Action and TV Ratings Beat NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American Alliance of Football (AAF) was supposed to be a league built on sports betting, and while that hasn\u2019t exactly been the case through the first week, the early returns are encouraging nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AAF\"
TV ratings were surprisingly high for the opening weekend of the AAF. (Image CBS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the fact that there is no history and no numbers to back up the bets, bookmakers were still busy at the betting window over the league\u2019s first four contests. <\/span><\/p>\n

“It was more than I expected,”<\/strong> Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, told the Hartford Courant. “Tiny in comparison to the NFL, but not bad considering it’s a brand new league.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Exact figures haven\u2019t been released, but one bookmaker from the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook compared the action to a typical NBA game.<\/span><\/p>\n

VP of race and sports at MGM Resorts International, Jay Rood, said that while wagering there was \u201cfairly light,\u201d it was still about triple what they expected to see. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tip of the Betting Iceberg? <\/span><\/h2>\n

While initial AAF betting handle is a promising sign, it\u2019s not quite what the league had in mind when it launched last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

League founders were explicit in their desire to leverage the new sports betting landscape in the US, with Charlie Ebersol stating that the goal was to \u201crevolutionize the sports betting experience<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, co-founder Ebersol went as far as to suggest that salaries would be based in part on the number and size of in-game bets made on a player\u2019s performance through the AAF mobile app.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, not only was the betting feature not available for opening week, but the app itself was a disaster, leading to a barrage of Twitter gripes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Yea. Freezes or doesn\u2019t work here<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kane (@KanesPicks) February 10, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n