Unusually High Betting on Late Night College Football Games: Can Hawaii Take Advantage?

The Washington Post this weekend featured an article on Hawaii late night games seeing plenty of betting action.  For the school, they hope to parlay this love of wagering on the Rainbow Warriors into a lucrative broadcast deal.

According to CollegeAD.com, Hawaii’s brand and particularly it’s late time zone makes it the “Chase game” for sports bettors and the most bet on game on most nights. 

CollegeAD revealed the following:

• Hawaii is now considered the strongest TV asset the league has, especially with Boise State gone.
• On most nights, Hawaii is the most bet on game because it is the last game of the night with gamblers trying to score one last win, or more often, make up for the day's losses.
• "Betting is off the charts and betting is going to be a line item in how you value an athletics department," one executive said.
• "In that regard, they offer something nobody else can, and the Mountain West would be smart to lean on that," another offered.

$160 million legally bet on Hawaii football games last season (2023), just behind UNLV for the highest “team handle” in the Mountain West.