The staggering betting impact of USA-Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off final by the numbers

Canada took home the title in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday night, avenging its loss to Team USA during round-robin play with a 3-2 win in overtime as superstar Connor McDavid scored a decisive goal just over eight minutes into the extra period.

For an All-Star replacement event, the game drew a lot of attention — particularly from bettors. It set quite a few records, becoming the most bet hockey game ever at both DraftKings and BetMGM.

It was also the second-most bet hockey game at Caesars Sportsbook, behind only last year’s Stanley Cup Game 7 between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. The sportsbooks were ultimately major winners from the result, with most of the money for both spread and moneyline bets being on Team USA.

“A Game 7 atmosphere and style of play is what we anticipated and it was exactly what we got in every which way,” Caesars head of hockey Karry Shreeve said after the game. “Customers were all over the USA out of the gates, especially when they went down 1-0 and were around +150 to bet on to win. Anytime Goalscorer saw record handle and customers were rewarded when McDavid scored the game winner in Overtime. The betting only ramped up when the game did go to OT, proving everyone was locked in until the very end.”

BetMGM, which called the game a “great success” from its perspective, saw two-and-a-half times as many bets placed on the 4 Nations final than any other hockey event this season. It wasn’t just the final that drew betting attention as five of the seven most bet hockey games this season came during the 4 Nations tournament.

Outside of the nation of Canada, sportsbooks were certainly the big winners on Thursday night.