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Re-examining the betting market on Major League Baseball games: is there a reverse favourite-longshot bias?

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  • J. M. Gandar
  • Richard Zuber
  • R. S. Johnson
  • W. Dare

Abstract

A recent study of the fixed-odds betting market on baseball games, while finding that the betting market is generally efficient, also found evidence of an underbetting on underdog teams. This article examines the evidence for this new anomaly. It corrects Woodland and Woodland's estimates of the commission, subjective win probabilities and test statistics. The efficiency null hypothesis cannot be rejected for all of their tests when revised test statistics are calculated for their sample period (however, like them, it was found that slight underdogs are underbet). It is also shown that their bias is not simply a bias involving favourites and underdogs. Whether underdogs are playing at home or away also seems to matter in their sample period. As well a positive relationship between returns and subjective probabilities was found for underdogs and favourites, a relationship suggestive of a favourite-longshot bias rather than its reverse. It is concluded that there is insufficient evidence to claim that this bias is a 'true market inefficiency'.

Suggested Citation

  • J. M. Gandar & Richard Zuber & R. S. Johnson & W. Dare, 2002. "Re-examining the betting market on Major League Baseball games: is there a reverse favourite-longshot bias?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(10), pages 1309-1317.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:34:y:2002:i:10:p:1309-1317
    DOI: 10.1080/00036840110095427
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    Cited by:

    1. Dagaev, Dmitry & Stoyan, Egor, 2020. "Parimutuel betting on the eSports duels: Evidence of the reverse favourite-longshot bias," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Jeremy M. Losak & Andrew P. Weinbach & Rodney J. Paul, 2023. "Behavioral Biases in Daily Fantasy Baseball: The Case of the Hot Hand," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(3), pages 374-401, April.
    3. Linda M. Woodland & Bill M. Woodland, 2015. "The National Football League season wins total betting market: The impact of heuristics on behavior," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(1), pages 38-54, July.
    4. Stekler, H.O. & Sendor, David & Verlander, Richard, 2010. "Issues in sports forecasting," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 606-621, July.
      • Herman O. Stekler & David Sendor & Richard Verlander, 2009. "Issues in Sports Forecasting," Working Papers 2009-002, The George Washington University, Department of Economics, H. O. Stekler Research Program on Forecasting.
    5. Jason P. Berkowitz & Craig A. Depken II & John M. Gandar, 2018. "The Conversion of Money Lines Into Win Probabilities," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(7), pages 990-1015, October.
    6. Rodney Paul & Andrew Weinbach, 2012. "Sportsbook pricing and the behavioral biases of bettors in the NHL," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 36(1), pages 123-135, January.
    7. R. Alan Bowman & Thomas Ashman & James Lambrinos, 2013. "Prospective measures of competitive balance: application to money lines in major league baseball," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(29), pages 4071-4081, October.
    8. Benjamin Waggoner & Daniel Wines & Brian P. Soebbing & Chad S. Seifried & Jean Michael Martinez, 2014. "“Hot Hand” in the National Basketball Association Point Spread Betting Market: A 34-Year Analysis," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-12, November.
    9. Christian Deutscher & Bernd Frick & Marius Ötting, 2018. "Betting market inefficiencies are short-lived in German professional football," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(30), pages 3240-3246, June.
    10. Andrés Barge-Gil & Alfredo Garcia-Hiernaux, 2020. "Staking in Sports Betting Under Unknown Probabilities: Practical Guide for Profitable Bettors," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(6), pages 593-609, August.
    11. John M. Gandar & Richard A. Zuber & R. Stafford Johnson, 2004. "A Reexamination of the Efficiency of the Betting Market on National Hockey League Games," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 5(2), pages 152-168, May.
    12. Berkowitz, Jason P. & Depken, Craig A. & Gandar, John M., 2017. "A favorite-longshot bias in fixed-odds betting markets: Evidence from college basketball and college football," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 233-239.
    13. Rodney Paul & Andrew Weinbach, 2005. "Market efficiency and NCAA college basketball gambling," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 403-408, September.
    14. Frank Daumann & Markus Breuer, 2011. "The Role of Information in Professional Football and the German Football Betting Market," Chapters, in: Wladimir Andreff (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Sports Economics, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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