Sportsbooks Split on Hotly Disputed Super Bowl National Anthem Prop Bet

For the second year in a row, sportsbooks are split on the national anthem prop bet after some extra flair from the singers extended the song.

Toward the end of Jon Batiste’s “Star-Spangled Banner,” the seven-time Grammy Award winner sang “o’er the land of the free” three times. He also held “the brave” for about eight seconds, and the final instrumental notes of his performance were covered by the sound of the flyover jets above the stadium. Some sportsbooks timed their bet based on when Batiste stopped singing, others on when the music ended.

Here’s how the anthem prop bet hit on different sportsbooks:

• FanDuel: 120.5 seconds, over
  
• DraftKings: 119.5 seconds, under
  
• BetMGM: 120.5 seconds, under

Due to regulations, FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM offered the prop bet only in Ontario, Canada. In the U.S., it’s common for bettors to use offshore sites like Bovada and BetOnline. The over hit at 121 seconds on Bovada, and BetOnline reportedly removed its offering before the game because of an apparent leak from rehearsal.

Bettors took to social media announcing their disappointment, blaming the “land of the free” repeats for losing their wager.

Batiste followed in the footsteps of last year’s anthem singer, Reba McEntire, in causing prop betting chaos. McEntire added an extra “the brave” at the end of her performance, which pushed the song past the line of 90.5 seconds. BetMGM paid out bettors who put money on both the over and the under, and FanDuel and DraftKings weren’t aligned, either.

In 2019, Gladys Knight sang “the brave” twice, and sportsbook BetOnline.ag similarly rewarded bettors for the over and the under.