The NFL season doesn’t start until September, but you can bet on it now.

Sports betting has gone from niche to mainstream phenomenon practically overnight, as more and more states legalize it. The interest of sportsbooks has shifted from setting a stable and accurate betting line to claiming market share.

Traditionally, sportsbooks would wait at least until after the NFL Draft and the season schedule reveal before setting their lines on team win totals and other wagers. And when Las Vegas was the only real hub of legal sports betting in the U.S., the market size was contained.

Now that people can place sports bets in around half the states in the country, the race for customers is on, and NFL win totals are among the more popular lines to bet on. 

As a result, sportsbooks are embracing earlier-than-ever betting opportunities — with all the increased risk and reward that entails.

The sector, still in its early stages, is poised for huge growth. JPMorgan estimated in February that sports betting will grow sixfold from its $1.5 billion 2020 revenue to $9.2 billion in 2025.

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