The state of New York is well-represented in the 2023 NBA Playoffs and 2023 NHL Playoffs. The inclusion of several teams in the postseason of the respective leagues could help the sports betting market for New York and benefit one of the few publicly traded sports franchises, which owns teams in both leagues.
What Happened: The New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL) are both owned entities of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp MSGS, making them among the limited number of publicly-owned sports teams.
Both teams are in the postseason for 2023 and alongside the Brooklyn Nets (NBA), New Jersey Devils (NHL) and New York Islanders (NHL), making the New York (tri-state) area a dominant presence. This marks the first time since 1994 that all five of the New York area teams have made the playoffs in the same season.
Fans of the teams might be excited to hear the year 1994 as it holds a special place in fans’ memories and could also be a sign of what’s to come.
In 1994, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup as the top NHL team, its first Stanley Cup trophy in 54 years. The Knicks lost in a tough seven-game series to the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.
Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks and Rangers, saw its share of postseason matches in the 1994 playoffs.
Something that sports fans in New York and owners of the publicly traded Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp MSGE, which owns the arena, will be hoping for in 2023.
Recent history hasn’t been as kind to the Rangers and Knicks. The Rangers lost in the Conference Finals in 2022, but prior to that had missed the playoffs in three of the last five seasons. Since 1994, the team has appeared in only one Stanley Cup Final.
The New York Knicks have missed the playoffs in eight of the last 10 seasons. The team lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, the only time it has been in the postseason in the last nine seasons. The Knicks last won a playoff series back in 2013 and that was the only playoff round it has won since the 2000 season.
Neither the Rangers nor Knicks are favorites to advance far in the playoffs but their appearances and the home games played could provide a lift to publicly traded Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment.
Each team will play at least two home games in the first round with the potential of a third game if the series goes at least six games.
Related Link: Madison Square Garden Sports: Buying The Knicks And Getting The Rangers For Free
Betting Odds, New York Could Get a Lift: The state of New York is one of the newer states to legalize sports betting, which could make the 2023 playoffs all that more significant with the multiple local teams competing.
Online sports betting went legal in New York in January 2022 and the state has set records over its first year of legalization.
The state of New York set an all-time record with $16.2 billion in sports betting handle for the 2022 year, beating the previous record set by New Jersey in 2021 of $10.9 billion.
Sports betting companies that have a strong share in New York include DraftKings Inc DKNG; Flutter Entertainment PDYPY owned FanDuel; Caesars Entertainment Inc CZR and BetMGM, a joint venture of Entain and MGM Resorts International MGM.
Another investing option is Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF BETZ, which holds stakes in many of the sports betting and iGaming leaders.
The Knicks won their first game of the first round in their NBA Playoffs matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks, who are fifth-seeded to the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, now finds itself with better odds to win the round. On DraftKings, the Knicks are the favorite at odds of -160 compared to +135 for the Cavaliers.
The Knicks have odds of +4,500 to win the NBA Championship, ranking 11 out of the 16 teams in the NBA Playoffs.
The Rangers find themselves as slight underdogs in the matchup against the Devils. The Rangers have odds of +100 to win the first round with the Rangers favored at -120.
The Rangers have odds of +1,200 to win the Stanley Cup, ranking sixth of the 16 teams in the NHL Playoffs.
The good news for the stocks mentioned above is both of these first-round series are also favored to go six or seven games in the betting lines, meaning at least three home games would be played at Madison Square Garden.
Bettors feeling lucky about their New York publicly traded sports teams could make a parlay of the Rangers and Knicks both winning championships. This bet would pay out at odds of +59,700, paying a profit of $597 on a $1 bet.
The Rangers play tonight (April 18) at 7 p.m. ET; the Knicks at 7:30 p.m. ET.
For more on the sports betting landscape and what could be next for popular betting segments and legislation, tune in to the Benzinga Sports Betting Titans virtual event on May 24.
Photo: Shutterstock, Unsplash
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