Americans Place $6 Billion in Superbowl Wagers

Sunday’s Superbowl LIII, the biggest event in US sports and one of the most televised sporting spectacles in the entire world, was historic in many ways.

The New England Patriots came out on top vs the Los Angeles Rams with a final score of 13:3 – giving Pats their sixth World title in seventeen seasons. But the otherwise forgettable display of players’ skills on the field of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta…

…was the first in US history that sporting enthusiasts across the entire nation could place wagers on! And according to a survey conducted by global media company, Morning Consult, on the eve of Superbowl, one in ten adult Americans were going to bet on the outcome of the match!

Rams Considered the Favorite

The survey, released on behalf of the American Gaming Association (AGA), found that 22.7 million adults were going to place wagers on the event…

…amounting to a total of $6 billion in handle!

However, it appears that a small majority of them had nothing to celebrate with the final whistle of the game – 52% of those surveyed fancied Los Angeles Rams to take the Championship title, while 48% placed their money on the Pats (and got it right in the end) – the only team in NFL history that has appeared in the Superbowl eleven times.

A worrying figure tells that 1.8 million American were going to use illegal bookies to place their bets.

Interest Surges, But Threat Remains

Newly-appointed CEO of AGA, Bill Miller, says that interest in legal, regulated sports betting has never been higher in the US, with eight states now legally operating sportsbooks and millions of American willing to partake via these legal channels. This, he added, generates valuable revenue for state, local and tribal governments.

He did issue a warning, though: “These results, however, also point to the continued viability of the dangerous, illegal sports betting market in America. It is more important than ever for jurisdictions to enact sound policies that provide a safe, legal alternative with protections for the nearly 23 million Americans who will place a bet on the big game.”

The AGA/Morning Consult survey was conducted online among 2,201 adults. The data generated was “weighted to approximate a target sample of adults” based on certain non-identifiers, with the margin of error expected to be around 2%.

NFL + Sports Betting = Winning Combo

AGA’s analysts forecast a colossal financial gain for National Football League thanks to regulated sports wagering – in a region of $2.3 billion annually!

A hugely attractive market, filled with operator titans out to get their share, yielded some other “first-evers”…

…Namely, in the multi-year sponsorship partnership deal between the league and Caesars Entertainment, making the Las Vegas-based titans the first-ever official casino sponsor of NFL.

In 2019, more new markets are expected to open themselves for NFL betting – such as Oregon, which is proactive with rolling out mobile sports betting before next season begins.

Source:

“Superbowl LIII” Betting By the Numbers”, americangaming.org, January 22, 2019.