BetMGM Sportsbook 2022 Year in Review: Mattress Mack Makes History
It's no surprise that football wore the crown at the King of Sportsbooks in 2022 – but sports bettors across all sports flooded BetMGM Sportsbook in what was the most eventful year in history for the popular U.S. sports betting site.
From Mattress Mack's record-setting $10 million win on the Houston Astros to the red-hot betting interest in Aaron Judge's American League home run record chase, there was no shortage of headlines at BetMGM Sportsbook in 2022.
Check out our BetMGM Sportsbook review here!
Here's a look at some of the biggest sports betting headlines from BetMGM this past year (all sportsbook data insights provided by BetMGM):
Most Bet Events (Tickets)
| Event | Date | Result/Winner |
| 🥇 Super Bowl LVI | February 13 | Rams 23, Bengals 20 |
| 🥈 AFC Championship | January 30 | Bengals 27, Chiefs 24 |
| 🥉 NFC Championship | January 30 | Rams 20, 49ers 17 |
| NFL Season Opener | September 8 | Bills 31, Rams 10 |
| NFC Wildcard Game | January 17 | Rams 34, Cardinals 11 |
| The Masters | April 7 | Scottie Scheffler |
| AFC Divisional Playoffs | January 23 | Chiefs 42, Bills 36 |
| NFC Divisional Playoffs | January 23 | Rams 30, Buccaneers 27 |
| NFL Week 2 - TNF | September 15 | Chiefs 27, Chargers 24 |
| NFL Week 1 - MNF | September 12 | Seahawks 17, Broncos 16 |
The NFL dominated the list of most wagered-on events in terms of total tickets, led (of course) by the Rams' thrilling Super Bowl victory over the Bengals. Early-season marquee matchups are also sprinkled throughout this list, while the 2022 Masters represents the only non-NFL sports betting event on the list.
Most Bet Events (Handle)
| Event | Date | Result/Winner |
| 🥇 Super Bowl LVI | February 13 | Rams 23, Bengals 20 |
| 🥈 NFC Championship | January 30 | Rams 20, 49ers 17 |
| 🥉 AFC Championship | January 30 | Bengals 27, Chiefs 24 |
| AFC Divisional Playoffs | January 23 | Chiefs 42, Bills 36 |
| NFC Divisional Playoffs | January 23 | Rams 30, Buccaneers 27 |
| Men's NCAAB Championship | April 4 | Kansas 72, UNC 69 |
| NFC Divisional Playoffs | January 22 | 49ers 13, Packers 10 |
| NFC Wildcard Game | January 17 | Rams 34, Cardinals 11 |
| NCAAF Championship | January 10 | Georgia 33, Alabama 18 |
| AFC Divisional Playoffs | January 22 | Bengals 19, Titans 16 |
When there's plenty at stake on the field, sports bettors follow suit – and that's readily apparent here, with the final three games of the NFL season joined by the college football and men's college basketball championship games. This reinforces the point that, once the calendar hits January 1, U.S. sports betting activity ramps up significantly.
Check out our NFL odds and NFL picks here!
Most Bet Event by Sport*
| Sport/League | Event | Date | Result/Winner |
| NFL | Super Bowl LVI | February 13 | Rams 23, Bengals 20 |
| NBA | NBA Finals (Game 6) | June 16 | Warriors 103, Celtics 93 |
| MLB | Home Run Derby | July 18 | Juan Soto |
| NHL | Stanley Cup Winner Futures | June 26 | Colorado Avalanche |
| NCAAF | National Championship | January 10` | Georgia 33, Alabama 18 |
| NCAAB | National Championship | April 4 | Kansas 72, UNC 69 |
| Soccer | Netherlands - USA | December 3 | Netherlands 3, USA 1 |
| Golf | 2022 Masters | April 10 | Scottie Scheffler |
| Boxing | Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol | May 7 | Bivol via UD |
| UFC | UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal | March 5 | Covington via UD |
| Tennis | Australian Open Final - Nadal vs. Medvedev | January 30 | Rafael Nadal |
*Listed by total tickets
We can learn a lot about sports betting trends by looking over this list. It combines those big events you would expect to see with surprising results like the MLB Home Run Derby and NHL futures wagers on the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup. And USA's inclusion in the World Cup resulted in bets on that team representing each of the top three soccer results of 2022.
Most Notable Bets
| Bet | Odds | Wager | Winnings |
| 🥇 Astros World Series Champion Futures | +500 | $2 million | $10 million |
| 🥈 Super Bowl LVI: Rams 1Q -0.5 | +105 | $1 million | $1.05 million |
| 🥉 Super Bowl LVI: Rams 4Q -0.5 | -110 | $1 million | $909,100 |
| Super Bowl LVI: Rams 1H -2.5 | -120 | $1 million | $833,000 |
| Kansas State Big 12 Title Futures | +1200 | $50,000 | $600,000 |
| Eastern Conference Final: Heat ML | +300 | $200,000 | $600,000 |
| MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 | +110 | $500,000 | $550,000 |
| AL Wild Card: Mariners ML | +115 | $474,167 | $545,292 |
| MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 | -105 | $525,000 | $500,010 |
| NBA: Celtics -1.5 | -105 | $525,000 | $500,010 |
Nothing comes close to Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale's epic eight-figure pull on the Astros' World Series win – but I love the variety of sports betting markets here. We have three different Rams-specific Super Bowl wagers, a big bet on Kansas State to win the Big 12 championship as a live underdog, and a couple of huge bullets on consecutive Dodgers regular-season games.
Most Bet NFL Players*
| Player | Team |
| 🥇 QB Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 🥈 QB Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 🥉 QB Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams |
| QB Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills |
| RB Joe Mixon | Cincinnati Bengals |
| QB Justin Fields | Chicago Bears |
| QB Tom Brady | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| RB Saquon Barkley | New York Giants |
| WR Cooper Kupp | Los Angeles Rams |
| QB Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers |
*Listed by total tickets
Quarterbacks are great prop bet targets given their high profile, and the number of available prop markets (particularly for the marquee options). Only three non-QBs made the list, led by Bengals running back Joe Mixon (who undoubtedly drew plenty of attention from sports bettors following his five-touchdown masterpiece in a Week 9 win over the Carolina Panthers).
Most Bet Players By Sport*
*Listed by total tickets
NBA
| Player | Team |
| 🥇 G Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors |
| 🥈 G Luka Doncic | Dallas Mavericks |
| 🥉 F Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics |
The NBA's most-bet players list is a who's-who of future Hall of Fame talent led by the two most popular guards in the league. Big men Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers round out the top five, with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo just outside.
Check out our complete list of NBA betting odds here!
MLB
| Player | Team |
| 🥇 OF Aaron Judge | New York Yankees |
| 🥈 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 🥉 DH/P Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Angels |
Judge's historic home-run pursuit of the AL MVP award lands atop this list, with a pair of familiar names right behind him. NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt saw the fourth-highest ticket volume.
NHL
| Player | Team |
| 🥇 F Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche |
| 🥈 D Cale Makar | Colorado Avalanche |
| 🥉 F Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
The combination of star power, a Stanley Cup run and a thriving hockey betting base in the Centennial State led to MacKinnon and Makar dominating player prop plays in 2022. The third name on this list is no stunner, but Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad at No. 4 is a mild surprise.
Check out our complete list of NHL betting odds here!
Golf
| Player |
| 🥇 Scottie Scheffler |
| 🥈 Justin Thomas |
| 🥉 Rory McIlroy |
Nos. 1, 2, and 8 in the Official World Golf Rankings make up the top of the most-bet list of PGA Tour golfers, with the third- and seventh-ranked golfers in Cameron Smith and Will Zalatoris rounding out the top five. In other words: Golf bettors tend to shop at the top of the odds list.
Tennis
| Player |
| 🥇 Rafael Nadal |
| 🥈 Carlos Alcaraz |
| 🥉 Daniil Medvedev |
Alcaraz is almost certainly the Next Big Thing in tennis, while Medvedev became the first player outside the sport's "Big Four" to hold the No. 1 ranking since 2004. And yet, they still couldn't reach the sports betting appeal of Nadal, who continues to defy the odds (and his age) at 36 years old.
UFC
| Fighter |
| 🥇 Israel Adesanya |
| 🥈 Kevin Holland |
| 🥉 Sean O'Malley |
BetMGM's most-bet UFC fighter list for 2022 shows just how broad the sport's global appeal has become. Seven different countries are represented on the top-10 list, topped by New Zealand's Adesanya; only the U.S. (three) and Brazil (two) have multiple fighters among the top 10.
Boxing
| Fighter |
| 🥇 Canelo Alvarez |
| 🥈 Gennady Golovkin |
| 🥉 Tyson Fury |
This might be the most predictable list of any that BetMGM provided (at least to those who follow the sweet science even casually). Alvarez-Golovkin III was one of the must-see fights of 2022, while Fury continues to generate significant betting interest as he has for years.
Most Profitable Players for BetMGM
| Player | Team |
| 🥇 Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals (NFL) |
| 🥈 Klay Thompson | Golden State Warriors (NBA) |
| 🥉 Cooper Kupp | Los Angeles Rams (NFL) |
| Joe Mixon | Cincinnati Bengals (NFL) |
| Kevin Durant | Brooklyn Nets (NBA) |
| Aaron Judge | New York Yankees (MLB) |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) |
| Tom Brady | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) |
| Evan Mobley | Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) |
| Joel Embiid` | Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) |
Ohio won't adopt legal sports betting until Sunday, but wagers on in-state athletes were quite profitable for BetMGM Sportsbook, with three entries on this list. Kupp's injury-marred 2022 campaign left bettors wanting, while Judge likely disappointed users on a nightly basis in the games leading up to his record-setting home run.
Editor's note: Hey Ohio! Welcome to legal sports betting. Check out the best sites for Ohio sports betting and the best Ohio sportsbook promos!
Most Profitable Players for Bettors
| Player | Team |
| 🥇 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) |
| 🥈 Jalen Green | Houston Rockets (NBA) |
| 🥉 Justin Fields | Chicago Bears (NFL) |
| Melvin Gordon | Denver Broncos (NFL) |
| Evan McPherson | Cincinnati Bengals (NFL) |
| Darius Garland | Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) |
| Austin Ekeler | Los Angeles Chargers (NFL) |
| Matt Ryan | Falcons/Colts (NFL) |
| Anfernee Simons | Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) |
| Cam Akers | Los Angeles Rams (NFL) |
Those who believed in SGA's incredible breakout season and Fields' absurd weekly rushing totals were rewarded handsomely at BetMGM, which saw a near-even split between NBA and NFL liabilities on this list. It's nice to see Ryan make an appearance (anytime INTs, anyone), and hey – we even have a kicker! Ain't sports betting great?
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