Nevada sportsbook operators were smiling Thursday evening during much of the opening game of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
The heavily favored Thunder led until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
When Pacers’ guard Tyrese Haliburton hit a last-second basket to give the underdog Pacers a 111-110 upset victory, the sportsbooks took a financial hit. The Thunder were a 10-point favorite and many bettors had the Pacers winning outright on the moneyline.
For New York City-based Kalshi, an online financial exchange and prediction market that began offering contracts on sports where customers take a yes or no position on the outcome of a game, the Pacers’ stunning victory wasn’t much of a factor.
