Last year’s Super Bowl saw almost $8 billion worth of wagers, but this year’s big game is expected to surpass last year’s betting totals.
Over 50 million fans will bet an estimated $16 billion on Sunday’s game between the Eagles and the Chiefs, according to data from the American Gaming Association.
That represents a 110% increase from the $7.61 billion wagered on Super Bowl LVI and follows a 78% jump from 2021.
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Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, told FOX Business that roughly 20% of Americans will participate in a Super Bowl-related wager this week.
“One in five Americans are going to bet on the Super Bowl, that’s everything from betting on the outcome of the game to squares at Super Bowl parties, and in-person betting, mobile betting,” Miller said.
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This year’s big game will be played at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, a state which legalized sports betting in 2021. Over $5 billion was wagered in the state’s first full year of legal sports and fantasy gambling.
“The fact that the Super Bowl is being played in a legal sports-betting state was almost unthinkable five years ago,” Miller said.
The increase in the number of people who can legally place a sports bet can be attributed to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 that cleared the way for states to allow sports wagering.
“Five years ago, Nevada was the only place you could bet on sports legally.” Miller noted. “Because of a ruling from the Supreme Court which said that Nevada shouldn’t have a monopoly on that, we now have had 37 states that have legalized sports, and we’ve got 34 that are up and running. So that really contributes to the number of people that are now able to legally bet on sports.”
The Super Bowl always presents the opportunity for exotic bets that otherwise are not commonly wagered on throughout the rest of the year.
“The Super Bowl is a pretty unique sporting event. You would never see odds on the coin flip for a regular season fourth week in the NFL season [game], but that does exist for the Super Bowl in different states.
“The length of the national anthem or the color of the Gatorade poured on the coach — these kind of unique prop bets they really for the most part are limited to the Super Bowl.”
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Spectators inside the stadium, will be able to place mobile-phone bets during the game. Last year, Gambling operator BetMGM opened a sports-betting outlet just outside the gates of State Farm Stadium.
“One of things we really have been excited about, and I think fans are excited about is in-game wagering on different outcomes,” Miller mentioned.
Fans will bet on a variety of things from touchdown passes to rushing yards.
“Number of touchdown passes Patrick Mahomes throws, or [the] number of runs Jalen Hurts has. These kind of bets within the game are some of the more exciting things for creating increased fan engagement.”
Allegiant Stadium will host the Super in 2024, in one of the biggest gambling hubs on the planet, Las Vegas.
When enjoyed in moderation and when spending limits are put in place, sports wagering gambling can be a fun and exciting way to consume a game. However, it is important that players are aware of the importance of responsible gambling.
Miller shared that a responsible gambler does not rely on gambling as a source of income.
“As someone approaches the Super Bowl or March Madness or any other sporting event where their thinking about making the game a little bit more fun or a little bit more interesting, one it’s supposed to be fun. No one should every believe they are going to make a living or a second job placing wagers on sporting events.”
Gamblers should also have a specific budget in mind.
“And No. 2, you set a budget, and you stick to that budget.
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The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will play in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12. Kickoff is set for 6:30 ET. The game can be seen on FOX.