The Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, saw a mammoth betting flurry. Bookmakers from across the world are estimated to have taken around £6 billion worth of wagers on the big NFL showcase match. The game itself, which saw the underdog Ravens take firm control of the match at half time, and then had to fend off a remarkable comeback from the 49ers, to just about hold on to take the championship. The game at the New Orleans Superdome, had around a 112 million television audience across the globe and pre-match markets offered a wide range of options.
Everything from the spread, to who would score the first touchdown, to who the MVP would be, to how the first points would be scored, lured many punters to action in Super Bowl betting. However, British bookmaker William Hill took a new route, as they challenged their customers to come up with a proposition bet of their own for Super Bowl XLVII.
William Hill asked customers through their Twitter and Facebook social media avenues, to come up with a unique idea for a proposition bet. The prize was for not only the suggested bet to appear on the betting site’s Super Bowl markets, but to also win a cash prize as well.
The “Will Alex Smith take a snap from center?” proposition bet suggest by Mike Smyth, a resident in Reno, Nevada won the day. The odds on the market were set for -700 for “no and at +500 for “yes”. There were over 100 entries plugged into William Hill, but Smyth’s was the one chosen by William Hill.
Smyth’s idea was that the 49ers starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick would get replaced by Smith at some point in the game, saying “Some 49ers fans would like to see Alex get a snap, some would not,” Smyth said in a release. “Who knows? An equipment malfunction for Kaepernick could get him in the game, or if they’re up big at the end of the game, it’d be a classy move by (coach Jim) Harbaugh to get Smith on the field. And with Harbaugh, you never know, he may have some special package designed for Smith to throw the Ravens off.”
Smith never made it onto the field of play, as the San Francisco comeback challenge fell short.
