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Herd behaviour and underdogs in the NFL

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  • Sean Wever
  • David Aadland

Abstract

Previous research has failed to draw any clear conclusions about the efficiency of the billion-dollar gambling industry for National Football League (NFL) games. We build on previous research and expose a new market inefficiency, which is consistent with the well-documented notion of herd behaviour in behavioural finance. A differential strategy of betting on home and visitor underdogs with large closing lines can produce statistically significant positive returns.

Suggested Citation

  • Sean Wever & David Aadland, 2012. "Herd behaviour and underdogs in the NFL," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 93-97, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:19:y:2012:i:1:p:93-97
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2011.568384
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Justin Davis & Andy Fodor & Luke McElfresh & Kevin Kreiger, 2015. "Exploiting Week 2 Bias in the NFL Betting Markets," Journal of Prediction Markets, University of Buckingham Press, vol. 9(1), pages 53-67.
    2. Andy Fodor, 2014. "Does Jet Lag Create A Profitable Opportunity For Nfl Bettors?," Journal of Gambling Business and Economics, University of Buckingham Press, vol. 8(1), pages 41-52.
    3. Andy Fodor & Michael DiFilippo & Kevin Krieger & Justin Davis, 2013. "Inefficient pricing from holdover bias in NFL point spread markets," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(17), pages 1407-1418, September.
    4. Corey A. Shank, 2018. "Is the NFL betting market still inefficient?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 42(4), pages 818-827, October.
    5. Alexander Traugutt & Jarid Morton, 2022. "Is herding efficient? Evidence from the college football point spread market," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 42(3), pages 1673-1680.
    6. Corey A. Shank, 2019. "NFL betting market efficiency, divisional rivals, and profitable strategies," Studies in Economics and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 567-580, September.
    7. Kevin Krieger & Andy Fodor & Greg Stevenson, 2013. "The Sensitivity of Findings of Expected Bookmaker Profitability," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(2), pages 186-202, April.
    8. Michael DiFilippo & Kevin Krieger & Justin Davis & Andy Fodor, 2014. "Early Season NFL Over/Under Bias," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(2), pages 201-211, April.
    9. Yoon Tae Sung & Scott Tainsky, 2014. "The National Football League Wagering Market," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(4), pages 365-384, August.
    10. Nofsinger, John R. & Shank, Corey A., 2023. "Momentum trading in the NFL gambling market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).

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