Ranking This Live Bets Experience For Massachusetts Sportsbook Apps

Six Massachusetts mobile sports betting apps launched just a week before March Madness began.

And these companies are competing to attract bettors in the fastest-growing sports betting market: live betting.

To determine which one is the best, I placed live March Madness bets on all six of the sports betting apps available in sports betting software available in Ma during the initial mobile release. Here was my experience.

Live bets in Ma

When it comes to living betting throughout Massachusetts , bettors have several options to choose from. In my opinion, DraftKings and FanDuel provided the best live betting experience. They were followed by Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and WynnBET.

Here are my rankings:

1. DraftKings Sportsbook
2. FanDuel
3. Barstool Sportsbook
4. BetMGM
5. Caesars Sportsbook
6. WynnBET

Overall, I wagered $60 across the six books and ended up with a loss of $5.62. It’s proof that I’m not an experienced sports bettor, but I don’t feel the need to request a refund either.

This experience showed me why DraftKings and FanDuel are the most popular legal sportsbook apps in the US. Their live odds updates and game trackers are strong, and they got the basic functionality right.

The bet slips worked well, and the live betting sections didn’t have any glitches mid-bet. These proved to be the most significant differentiators between the top sportsbook brands and the others.

DraftKings Ma live bets

DraftKings Massachusetts was the only sportsbook on this list where I made a profit. I turned a $5 bonus bet into an $18.65 win on the Chiefs after the Eagles scored a touchdown and the market overreacted.

This time, I decided to try again with a $10 college basketball bet on Baylor against the University of California-Santa Barbara. After the game started, I noticed the moneyline odds move from around -320 to -305. It was still early in the game when neither Baylor nor Santa Barbara had pulled ahead, and I didn’t want to wait too long for the odds to move into the -350s or -400s.

The game interface was just slightly behind the live broadcast. It was enough for DraftKings to react to customers’ cash flows, but detailed enough that I could have watched the game tracker in the car and been well-informed.

I got slightly better odds, but I wasn’t particularly bold. I came out ahead by just $3.27.

FanDuel Ma live bets

FanDuel Massachusetts  was my first experience depositing at a sportsbook. Having assessed payment providers, I knew that sportsbook deposits and withdrawals could be clunky and, for some bettors, the worst part of the betting process.

I can understand why. I tried depositing $10 with Apple Pay, and it didn’t work. I switched to a bank transfer and logged into my bank account on the app. After supposedly depositing my $10, I was left hanging on the processing screen. I left the screen thinking that I would have to try again.

However, the deposit went through, but it was $100 instead of $10. FanDuel’s default deposit is $100, and that is often the reason it’s the most profitable book brand among Massachusetts sportsbook apps.

Still thinking that only $10 of those dollars were mine, I placed a $10 bet on Marquette when they played against Vermont. The moneyline odds opened around -600 and fluctuated between -580 and -620. By the time Marquette pulled ahead, I panicked and bet at -620.

Once again, I wasn’t bold, but I came out an extra $1.61 ahead.

FanDuel seemed to have the smoothest game tracker. The animations were smooth, and I didn’t have to wait long for my live bet to be processed.

Overall, apart from the janky deposit, FanDuel doesn’t have any functional issues. After betting at the other four books, I missed that seamlessness.

BetMGM Ma live bets

Live betting on the BetMGM Massachusetts app was okay. My $10 Apple Pay deposit went smoothly this time, so I had higher hopes for this book.

When I tried to place my bet on the Notre Dame-Utah women’s game, I encountered glitches that I didn’t encounter on DraftKings and FanDuel.

The odds updated as usual, but the gap between Notre Dame and Utah became so significant that moneyline bets became unavailable. The entire market briefly became unavailable while BetMGM was recalculating.

So, I tried my luck by betting on the Under 129.5, which seemed like a stretch when only one team was any good. The odds moved from -140 to -120, so I placed my bet.

Then things got weird. After placing my $10 bet, the app accepted my bet, but the bet slip showed that the odds had changed from -120 to -105. That was strange since I thought I had locked in at -120.

After refreshing the screen, it turned out that I had indeed locked in at -120. The odds just continued to live update from the wrong screen. I started to understand why DraftKings and FanDuel dominate the market in their states.

I also realized that I wasn’t good at over/under betting. The final score was 86-52 for a total of 138 points. Under 129.5 wasn’t even close.

Bar stool Sportsbook are living betting

Barstool Sportsbook Massachusetts didn’t present any major issues. Once again, I turned to a women’s college basketball game, and once again, the odds between the two teams were so lopsided that moneyline betting was out of the question. Ohio State was always going to beat James Madison.

This time, I tried one of the alternative point total wagers. The Under 150.5 offered 30 cents better than Under 144 or 145. I almost locked in at +140, but the odds changed, and I ended up at +135.

Barstool Sportsbook is an otherwise competitive product that is undermined by these negative customer experiences.

The final score was 80-66, resulting in a total score of 146. I was closer than my BetMGM bet, but I was also discouraged with over/under betting.

At that point, both my winning and lucky streaks were over.

Caesars Sportsbook & WynnBET are living betting

Caesars Sportsbook and WynnBET both gave me trouble.

I had to upload my driver’s license to both sites to verify my identity. Usually, that’s not a problem. It’s a common measure for sportsbooks that cannot verify their customers’ identities. My driver’s license address is from Texas, my current address is in Hawaii, and I have changed apartments since creating both accounts.

The shock came when I realized how long it took. I uploaded my driver’s license and utility bill to WynnBET, and my driver’s license to Caesars on Saturday morning. WynnBET verified my identity on Tuesday evening. I reached out to Caesars on Thursday and was asked to submit a utility bill as well.

Consumer beware: It’s okay to have to verify your identity, but contact the customer support team promptly instead of waiting for a book to verify you.

Finally, when I was able to make deposits, I placed my last two bets.

Caesars Sportsbook

The Caesars Sportsbook Ma mobile app is not great for live betting. I watched Gonzaga lose to UConn at a brewery with some friends and had an amber beer. The odds on Gonzaga opened at around +145, and I took the opportunity when the odds moved to +165.

After I confirmed my odds and placed my bet, my odds locked in at +185 instead. It was a pleasant surprise, but it made me wonder how many times the reverse movement had caught bettors by surprise.

The lag in Caesars’ game tracker was significant as well. Early in the game, it showed a 5-4 score when the score was actually 9-4. Every sportsbook with a game tracker lags behind the live broadcast, but the lag on Caesars seemed longer than other apps.

I didn’t know Gonzaga was going to lose, let alone as badly as it did. My return to moneyline betting proved to be unprofitable. I was down another $10.

WynnBET

To get started with live betting at WynnBET Massachusetts, I logged into my bank’s online page and entered the routing numbers for my bank transfer. I finally entered the numbers, hit enter, and… nothing.

A message appeared stating that my transaction was in progress and that I should check the transactions screen to see if my deposit was successful.

It wasn’t. My transaction was not in progress on the second or third attempt for a bank transfer. Even my debit card was declined.

I eventually signed up for the VIP Preferred program, which only required my bank and driver’s license information. My $10 deposit went through, and I checked the available bets.

This time, I was at a sports bar with my fiancé, and the Creighton vs. San Diego State game was on. SDSU was the underdog, but the two teams kept trading points, and neither was too far ahead of the other. I watched the odds for SDSU climb from +175 to +185, and then it got a last-minute boost to +195. I seized the opportunity.

Afterward, Creighton pulled further ahead, and I set my phone down assuming I had lost another $10. Imagine my surprise when I checked my phone later that afternoon to find out that Hillcrest State awarded by an individual point . There was an additional $19.60 in another sportsbook account.

Instructions from are living betting

I was confident when starting this endeavor. My small win in the DraftKings Super Bowl made me believe I could manage a bankroll across six sportsbooks.

However, experience reinforced a tough lesson for many bettors to swallow: Randomness comes in streaks. Flipping a coin 1,000 times may result in roughly 500 heads and 500 tails, but there will be streaks of one or the other that seemingly defy probability.

My initial three wins were fortunate events where the games went in my favor. Live betting enhanced some of my potential payouts, but sometimes the odds turned against me instead.

If Massachusetts sports bettors can overcome clunky deposit processes, they’ll certainly enjoy live betting. I had never heard of James Madison until this article, and my Barstool Sportsbook wager made me interested in them.Live betting is easy to do anywhere, which is both its best and worst feature. It’s a great way to engage the whole table of friends, but it also highlights why a general self-exclusion checklist would be a great responsible gambling innovation.