According to recent data released by the American Gaming Association (AGA), a record 26 million Americans will wager a collective $6.8 billion on Super Bowl LIV. A significant amount of the total wagered will be on the illegal market, including local bookies and offshore online sportsbooks, as the regulated market in the United States is still finding its feet.
The number of expected bettors for this year’s Super Bowl is three times the amount recorded in 2019. Bill Miller, who is the president and CEO of the AGA, stated that the growth is a result of the expansion of legal wagering markets in the US.
“With 14 operational markets and another seven close behind, Americans have never before had so many opportunities to wager on the Super Bowl in a safe and legal manner, and clearly, they are getting in on the action. With increased visitation to legal sportsbooks, we are successfully drawing bettors away from the predatory illegal market,” he said.
The big gambling states of Nevada and New Jersey are expected to bring in a huge sum for the big game, both at land-based casinos and their online sports betting portals.
Here are some interesting Super Bowl betting predictions from a Morning Consult survey:
• Almost four million players will place wagers at a land-based sportsbook, which is a 25% increase from 2019.
• Nearly five million players bet at legal online and mobile sportsbooks, which is an increase of 19% from 2019.
• The remaining players will make wagers with local bookies, on Super Bowl squares contests, and with friends and family.
• PlayUSA.com has forecasted that $400 million will be wagered at legal online sportsbooks and land-based casinos.
DraftKings recently released a Super Bowl survey that found 82% of Americans have an interest in legal Super Bowl wagering. However, it is worth noting that survey was taken with 1,000 sports fans. Some 81% of those surveyed wanted to enter a Fantasy Sports Super Bowl contest. Around 78% of those surveyed said they would tune in and watch the Super Bowl if they had money riding on the game, while 61% said they would not change the channel for a commercial break if they had a Super Bowl bet on.
The most popular forms of Super Bowl betting are:
• Squares contests
• Spread betting
• Over/Under lines
• Live betting
According to Miller and the AGA, there may be as many as 30 legal sports betting jurisdictions in the US by 2021. If the seven states where sports wagering legislation is pending took wagers on next season’s Super Bowl, it would mean 100 million more Americans would be able to bet on sports legally.
Teams and professional sports leagues in the US can benefit from sports betting as well. For example, AGA research indicates that the NFL can make around $2.3 billion a year from the gambling industry.
There are already 70 deals that have been made between legal sportsbooks and professional sports teams in the US. For example, the NHL’s New Jersey Devils have partnership deals with William Hill, Unibet, FanDuel, and Caesars. Miller believes the number of deals between books and pro teams can reach triple digits by the end of 2020.