Offshore book pays out AFC West bets early on Chiefs

A two-game division lead with 12 games left doesn’t sound like a lock. But apparently it is when you’re talking about the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

Kansas City (4-0), which leads the Raiders (2-2) by two games in the AFC West heading into Sunday’s matchup at Arrowhead Stadium, is a -10,000 favorite at the Westgate to win the division. That means a bettor must wager $10,000 to win $100, or $100 to win $1.

BetOnline went a step further and officially crowned the Chiefs as AFC West champions Tuesday, paying out all division futures early on Kansas City, which was -350 at the offshore sportsbook before the season started.

“With the way the AFC West is unfolding, we felt very comfortable moving forward and rewarding Chiefs bettors early,” BetOnline manager Dave Mason said in a statement. “The only way Kansas City doesn’t come out on top is if Andy Reid eats too many hamburgers or Patrick Mahomes suffers a season-ending injury, and nobody wants to see that.”

If the Chiefs don’t win the AFC West, BetOnline reports the premature payout will cost it an amount in the low six-figure range.

“Yes, the Raiders, Chargers and Broncos still have action (Good luck),” Mason posted on Twitter.

Las Vegas is 18-1 at the Westgate to win the division, the Chargers (1-3) are 40-1 and the Broncos (1-3) are 80-1.

Kansas City is a consensus 12-point favorite over the Raiders after the line was as high as 13½ this week. The Chiefs were -11½ at Circa on Friday and -12½ at the Golden Nugget, William Hill and Station Casinos.

“We’ll need the Raiders, just because it’s the Chiefs and Raiders,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Sometimes a high point spread will stop it from being a humongous decision. But every teaser and money-line parlay will have the Chiefs on it.”

Kansas City has won five straight against the Raiders, going 4-1 ATS, and covered four straight at home in the series.

Total dropping

A William Hill bettor placed a $55,000 straight bet to win $50,000 on the Raiders-Chiefs game to go over 56½ points. But the consensus total has dropped to 55 after it opened at 59.

Professional sports bettor Jeff Whitelaw said the only wager he would consider placing on the game is on the under.

“The Chiefs’ defense is starting to look a little bit better,” he said. “With them playing the Bills right after (in Week 6), the Chiefs may save a few things for the Bills and not show everything.

“If they can get a decent lead against the Raiders, they may just shorten the game with the running and dinks and dunks.”

Kansas City is second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 17.5 points per game. That helps explain why the explosive Chiefs have a 1-3 over-under record.

Las Vegas is one of three NFL teams that haven’t gone under the total. The Raiders and Bills each has a 3-0-1 over-under record, and the Saints are 4-0.

NFL overs have cashed at a 58 percent clip (36-26-2), though the last four games have gone under.

“These totals eventually get to a point where they can’t go much higher,” Whitelaw said. “Oddsmakers keep making adjustments and raising them until eventually they get to a point where they start to go under.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.