LARCHWOOD, IA (KELO) — It’s a big night for KELOLAND football fans with the NFL’s college draft getting underway. And for the first time, local fans have some skin in the game when it comes to who gets picked, and when.

Betting on the NFL draft is a novelty that’s drawn a handful of wagers at the Betfred Sports Book in Grand Falls Casino.

“This is our first year, so we don’t get a lot of feedback yet from people. But we have probably, I would say somewhere around 20-30 tickets that people came in and wagered with us,” Sportsbook Manager Joee Ektnitphong said.

Iowa casinos have to stop taking wagers 24-hours before the start of the draft to ensure that bettors can’t take advantage of any inside information that may leak out about last-minute trades.

“You never know until 7:00 tonight who’s really going to be the number-one overall pick,” Ektnitphong said.

Right now, the smart money is on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.

“If you wager on Bryce Young to be the number one pick overall, $10 will pay you $1, so in other words, a thousand dollars will pay you 100 bucks,” Ektnitphong said.

Grand Falls Casino expects betting on the draft will provide a boost during an otherwise slow time of year.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of interest with football being super-competitive, a lot of people are paying attention now like they never used to, so I think the excitement is there. The energy level is there and why wouldn’t people want to come out and bet on the draft,” Grand Falls Casino Marketing Director Greta Stewart said.

While it’s too late to bet on this year’s draft, the Betfred Sportsbook expects wagers to increase for future NFL drafts once more people become aware of the chance to win money with every pick of a player.

People had more options to bet on than just which players are picked. They could also place wagers on prop bets including the total number of defensive backs taken in the first round.