Two mechanical betting rules were applied to games in the National Football League for the 2000-2008 seasons. Wagers of $11 (to win $10) on all NFL underdogs produced a net loss of $717. When bets were limited to visiting underdogs, only $395 (or $44 per year) was lost. The results suggest that...

Football point spreads were designed to divide the betting public in half and turn transaction costs into risk-free returns for gambling operators. Invariably, one team will be better than its opponent and, in the absence of a point spread, would naturally be the bettors' choice. By awarding a...

The expanding legalization of sports betting will most assuredly swell the ranks of bettors nationwide and invariably attract some who would gamble less for financial gain than for entertainment value. While random betting can quickly end the fun for these "recreational bettors," we propose a...