In football wagering, the “Under” is often not a favored bet by gamblers, including those using Illinois sportsbook apps.
To offer a quick primer on the Over/Under wager: As most gamblers know, that’s a bet – often in football – on whether two teams will combine to score more or fewer points than a number set by the oddsmaker.
And it’s the “Over” side of such a bet to which many gamblers are attracted. The reason is probably a matter of human nature. Sports gamblers, like sports fans in general, like offense. They enjoy scoring, and when it comes to the Over/Under wager, they frequently favor the Over. Just ask any bookmaker.
Why Over Bets Are Popular
There’s at least some psychological grounding in Illinois sports betting to being an Over bettor. When a fan wagers on the Over and the two teams combine to exceed the Over/Under number, the bettor can rest easy. The wager is resolved.
However, with the Under wager, if it’s close to the Over/Under line of demarcation near the end of the game, the gambler is on edge until the game is in the books.
Still, the Under could be the smart bet, given the right circumstances. And Chicago is the home of a good example of that.
How We Determined Best Over/Under Stadiums
IllinoisBet.com, your home for the best Illinois sports betting promos, researched all NFL Over/Under results from the past 10 seasons. We used data from SportsOddsHistory.com to determine which current stadiums have hit the most Unders. This data includes all regular-season games, playoff games and Super Bowls played at the given stadium.
We instituted a five-year minimum in the research, meaning that Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles were not included.
With that in mind, it turns out that Chicago’s Soldier Field has been a haven for fans of lower scoring games with the Under hitting 57.41%, or with a record of 46-34-1. according to the data at SportsOddsHistory.
Best NFL Stadiums for Under Bettors Since 2013
Why Bears Are Ranked So High
Chicago’s presence on the list of best stadiums for Under bettors is rooted, at least in part, in the fact that the Bears have been one of lowest-scoring teams in the NFL over the last 10 seasons – check out the Bears playoff chances for the 2023 season.
Since 2013, in eight seasons, Chicago has been deep in the bottom third of the league in scoring, finishing no higher than No. 22 and as low as No. 29 (twice) among 32 teams.
The Bears’ per-game scoring average since 2013 is 20.55 points per contest. If two anomalous seasons are subtracted – Chicago had offensive surges in 2013 and 2018 – their average is just 19 points a game.
Meanwhile, the NFL average over those 10 seasons was 22.91 points a game.
The cumulative effect of the Bears’ lower-than-normal scoring output has appeared to help make Soldier Field a place where the Under bettors flourish.
Ranking above Soldier Field in hitting the most Unders over the past 10 seasons were, in order: Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (61.22%, 30-19 in favor of Unders); Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium (60%, 56-37-2); Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium (58.43%, 48-34-1), and Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium (57.83%, 48-35).
Stay with IllinoisBet to track Bears Super Bowl odds as the season progresses.
