HELENA — For the past three years, SportsBet Montana, the Montana Lottery's sportsbook, has seen an increase in the number of individual actions placed on Brawl of the Wild, the annual collegiate football game between the rival University of Montana Grizzlies and Montana State University Bobcats. The sportsbook expects the trend to continue and has been preparing for those wanting to play on game day.
Brady Schulz is the director of SportsBet and says this is a massive event that the lottery makes special preparations for each year.
"It adds extra excitement for us here, especially since this game is huge for Montanans. It's their Super Bowl since we don't have professional sports. "So, everyone gets real excited for it, and just the opportunity to, you know, offer this game through Sports Bet Montana and even be able to add some extra bets you might not see at any other sports before the game, we hope you can get, Montanans excited for it."
They also release odds and other information about action that players can wager on earlier than for other college football games on the sportsbook, which allows players to make their wagers further in advance. As of Friday evening, the Cats are favored with a 9.5-point spread over the Griz.
"So typically for FCS games such as 'cats and 'Grizz games against other opponents, you won't see the lines come out for maybe a day before even, a couple of hours before the game starts. We like to try to get it out on Tuesday or Wednesday. So we can have that available as early as possible for our players. And then also we have our trading team, create manual player prop bets for the game," said Schulz.
Gambling can be addictive, if you or someone you know needs help, can call the Montana Problem Gambling hotline at 888-900-9979.
