07-02-2025
Can you actually bet on the Puppy Bowl? We tackle the ruff Animal Planet question
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Longtime Puppy Bowl referee and animal rescue advocate Dan Schachner has one sure-thing bet before Super Sunday: Strangers will drop unsolicited DMs into his Instagram account seeking top dog intel.
"It's funny that people ask straight up, 'Who looks good for MVP? Does Smoosh have a shot? Does Team Fluff have a chance of winning?'" Schachner, the human among dogs in 14 Puppy Bowls, tells USA TODAY. "I have to delete every one of them. Because people are somewhere making prop bets on the Puppy Bowl."
We are all shocked — shocked! — to discover gambling around the Puppy Bowl, Animal Planet's annual, adorable showcase for pet adoption (simulcast on Animal Planet, Discovery, Discovery+, Max, TBS, and truTV starting at 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST).
But can people legally wager on the tail-wagging pups playfully and unknowingly vying for the Lombarky Trophy? It's ruff finding Puppy Bowl action in casinos or American online sportsbooks like BetMGM that don't allow wagers on the TV event. The mutt matchup is filmed over an October week in a dog-sized astroturfed studio stadium before the show is intensively edited for three hours of pre-Super Bowl viewing.
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"The short answer: I've never seen betting on the Puppy Bowl in any legal market," says ESPN sports betting writer Doug Greenberg. "This is a pre-taped TV program. It's a known result. That's never allowed in sports betting."
Puppy Bowl scores are awarded each time a dog player playfully pushes or carries a chew toy into the end zone. Last year's Puppy Bowl, which featured the first-ever dog assistant referee, ended with a 72-69 score as Team Ruff triumphed over perennial foe Team Fluff.
U.S. betting organizations sniff around the field, with sportsbooks posting cheeky odds. But if you need proof that some have attempted to take it further, Colorado's Division of Gaming shot down a Puppy Bowl betting petition (from an unspecified party) in January 2021, according to the agency's official list of "rejected waging requests." (Fun fact: Dominating the state's wager rejection list are variations of "Color of Gatorade poured on the winning coach.")
Those looking for real betting action on fake dog football need to move to offshore books like the Costa Rican-based BetUS, which lists wagers including the winning team, MVP, the first letter of MVP's name and predicting the answer to the question: "Will any puppy attempt to mate?" (Fear not concerned parents, betting "no" on the TV mating is the heavy favorite).
BetUS spokesperson Andres Vargas told USA TODAY in an email statement that while the event is filmed months in advance, with the results known by at least production teams, "viewers remain unaware of the outcome until the broadcast airs." Vargas added that the Puppy Bowl betting selection is "surprisingly popular" without giving specific betting numbers. BetUS reps threw one bone, saying the site observed 2,700 people searching for Puppy Bowl odds over the last year.
Schachner claims he doesn't even know the results. His refereeing duties, which include calling an "excessive licking" penalty in Sunday's event, do not involve keeping track of the score over days of chaotic dog-chasing or post-production. It's only during the editing that the many scores are tabulated. Adding to his blissful ignorance, Schachner says the crew shoots two different endings and 10 MVP award presentations. And, in case you're wondering, the media do not receive advance Puppy Bowl screeners.
"It's actually more guarded than you might think," says Schachner. "If you're inclined to make a bet, I wish you well. But honest to God, I don't know the details."
