As the NBA and NHL resume their season in the coming weeks, sports gamblers are flocking to betting on futures but is that the right approach for a profitable return? 

When the NBA, NHL, and MLB postponed their season back in March, sports gamblers were left with a major void in action. Nearly three months later, some professional sports are set to resume their season which is opening up entirely new sports betting futures. Betting on which team will win the NBA Championship, Stanley Cup, make the playoffs, win the MVP, earn the eighth seed in the post-season are all gaining popularity among sports bettors.

But is that the right approach to turning a profit? That’s the question we asked Sports Illustrated’s gambling analyst Frank Taddeo.

Read the transcript from his conversation about the sports betting futures market.

Bill Enright: As sports set to resume in the next few weeks, gamblers are taking a look at the futures markets and whether or not they should be placing bets on win totals, championship odds and who's going to make the playoffs. For more of that analysis, I bring on Frank Taddeo, SI's gambling analyst. Frank, I know futures tend to be something that could be quite profitable if you hit it right. But other times or more, you just have a lotto ticket. What's your analysis for how people should approach the future markets when sports started returning? 

Frank Taddeo: Yeah, Bill, definitely I think you hit it right on the head and it's normally future wagering is something that's really an opportunity to really step out and get teams at large odds. But for now, sports bettors are really left with the pertinent question of whether future wages are still a wise investment. And as sports books around Vegas have begun to turn their mobile platforms back on, bettors are forced to be coming to comprehend the harsh reality that there's refunds on March Madness, the NBA and the NHL. Bettors are now forced to place wages Bill on new markets at sharper adjusted prices by the oddsmakers. Therefore, the question is becoming, you know, is it still a wise endeavor, Bill, to actually place wagers at significantly lower odds? It was originally waged upon months ago in their initial offerings? With everything considered, sports bettors should come to the conclusion that future wagering should be used as a fun endeavor rather than a form of making monetary, you know, significant monetary investments. Similar to the uncertainty we all face fighting an invisible disease. The same unpredictability now applies the return of the top teams in their respective sport. And unfortunately, Bill, once again, the oddsmakers have the edge over the bettors because thanks to their ability to reset the entire future market prices. The best approach here Bill, is simply have fun with these markets as opposed to ignoring them or investing heavily like you would have in previous years. So right now, just have fun with Bill. 

Bill Enright: Having fun is not as fun if you're not making money, Frank. I think you know that better than anybody. Let's take a look at some of the future markets. You can find more of that analysis by going to SI.com/gambling. 

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