Jeremy Lin Good For Sportsbooks

NBA rookie phenomenon Jeremy Lin is fueling mini-betting boom in the US and Taiwan that’s great news for affiliate partners. The Lin boom is all the sweeter for sports books because it falls in the betting dead zone between the Super Bowl and March Madness.
Linsanity
Lin’s underdog story has been capturing worldwide attention since he was pulled off the New York Knick bench on February 4, that night he scored 28 points. Since then he’s been putting up big numbers in both scoring and assists and winning the public’s hearts. The Harvard graduate’s performance is all the more remarkable given the fact that  he went undrafted and was cut by the Golden State Warriors early in the season.
News and sports media are endlessly fascinated by every aspect of the Lin story from the fact that he’s only the fourth Ivy League player to play in the NBA. But the Linsanity outbreak in the United States pales in comparison to Taiwan.
Taiwanese Betting Boom

Lin, who is from Los Angeles, is the son of Taiwanese immigrants and that’s made him a huge star on the island nation. Taiwanese punters have morphed into Knicks fanatics and are lay down big money on Lin and his teammates. Last week the Taiwanese Sports Lottery, the nation’s only legal sports betting outlet, posted record business and doesn’t look to be slowing anytime soon.
Lin Futures Skyrocket
Land based and online sports books are also happily embracing the Lin story because its driving big business in futures betting. Three weeks ago Lin wasn’t on anybody’s board as a potential MVP. Oddsmakers quickly added him to MVP futures betting as a 100-1 long shot. The public jumped all over Lin betting, driving his odds all the way down to 25-1. (For comparison, his fellow Knickerbocker Carmello Anthony is also 25-1 as a potential MVP and Lebron James is 3-2.)
What it Means for Affiliates
For affiliate partners, Linsanity could be a nice opportunity to reach out to the burgeoning Asian Pacific market. Gaming is huge in that part of the world, but cultural gaps, hazy regulations and language barriers have made it a tough market to crack. Affiliates could easily use the Lin story to reach out to English speaking bettors in that part of the world through Asia-Pacific friendly affiliate partners.
There’s no telling how long the Lin phenomenon is going to last, but while its hot sports books and affiliates should be jumping all over Linsanity.
Do you think that the Lin story is a good opportunity for reaching out to Asian gamers? Let us know on your General Discussion Forum.