PlayUSA, which provides news and analysis of the US gaming industry, is projecting that $1bn will be legally wagered on Super Bowl LVI at US sportsbooks.
If these estimates are met, it would roughly double the more than $500m that was legally wagered on 2021’s Big Game.
Dustin Gouker, the lead analyst for PlayUSA.com, commented: “$1bn in legal wagering on a single game would be an impressive milestone for the industry. It would have seemed impossible just a few years ago to reach such heights, but with the expansion of sports betting over the last year it is inevitable that legal wagering will soar.”
The American Gaming Association estimated that $4.3bn was wagered, both legally and illegally, on last year’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
When the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals play in this year’s Big Game on February 13, sports betting in some form will be legal in 30 states and Washington DC, representing more than 166.9m people, according to the US Census Bureau 2021 estimates. By contrast, 120m people lived in 21 legal sports betting jurisdictions for last year’s Super Bowl.
Eric Ramsey, a data analyst for PlayUSA, stated: “The sports betting landscape has changed dramatically since last year’s game. More than half of all Americans now live in a legal jurisdiction, and even well-established markets such as New Jersey and Nevada have grown significantly over the last year as mobile betting gains in popularity.”
Nevada has been projected by PlayUSA to produce the largest Super Bowl handle with $175m, followed by New York with $160m. If those estimates are met, it would beat the combined US legal sportsbook betting volume tally for the 2019 game.
PlayUSA estimates that New Jersey ($130m), Illinois ($75m), Pennsylvania ($70m), Arizona ($55m), Michigan ($45m), Indiana ($40m), Colorado ($35m) Louisiana ($35m), Virginia ($35m), and Tennessee ($30m), will follow Nevada and New York.
Ramsey added: “Americans have become increasingly comfortable with online betting in general and the less conventional bets it facilitates, such as in-game wagering.
“This should really help boost Super Bowl betting, which for years has enticed bettors with fun prop bets and other unconventional wagers. The big difference this year is those types of bets are easier than ever to make in more places than ever before.”
Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Rams opened as favorites to win Super Bowl 56, according to analysts TheLines, which tracks odds in the US-regulated sports betting market.
