A massive event for sportsbooks
The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that 23.2 million Americans will be wagering a cumulative $4.3bn on Super Bowl LV. 7.6 million will place wagers through online sportsbooks, indicating a 63% year-on-year increase in online betting activity.
The AGA tweeted out details of its research on Tuesday in advance of Sunday’s big game:
The published estimates stem from a survey that market research company Morning Consult conducted online on behalf of the association between January 25 and January 27.
Great expectations
Speaking about the significance of the upcoming sporting event for US betting handle, AGA CEO and president Bill Miller said: “This year’s Super Bowl is expected to generate the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history.” He also noted that record numbers of people are moving away from using illegal bookies and entering the legal marketplace.
the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history”
Despite the significant number of people set to bet on the game between defending Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, total wagers on the event are set to decline. The AGA believes the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a drop in retail sports betting handle and less casual forms of betting.
The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events contributing to annual betting handle in the US.
Transitioning to legal options
Just 1.4 million Americans are considering placing an in-person bet on the Super Bowl, a drop of 61% year-on-year. Only 1.8 million people are planning on using an illegal bookie, representing a 21% decline in unregulated wagers from last year.
a 21% decline in unregulated wagers
About 11.9 million people plan to place bets with friends, or 18% fewer than in 2020. Survey respondents favored the Chiefs, with 56% planning to back the defending champions. Neither of the teams in the big game have their homes in states that currently have legal sports betting.
According to the AGA-commissioned research, Americans appear to prefer using legal sportsbooks, with 65% of respondents saying that using a legit betting site is important to them. A lot more people have also had more exposure to messages relating to responsible gambling over the past year.
Speaking about this positive trend, AGA CEO Miller said: “This data is an encouraging sign that our efforts to ground the expansion of sports betting in responsible gaming is taking hold.”
A wave of sports betting expansion
Since the last Super Bowl in February 2020, an additional 36 million American adults now have access to legal sports betting in their states. The seven jurisdictions to go live in the intervening period were Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Montana, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
In all, 25 states have made sports betting legal, with a handful of these locations yet to go live. In addition, 13 states now have legislation – either in the pre-filing stage or currently active – that would legalize sports betting.
The expansion of the legal market saw nationwide legal sports betting handle total more than $21bn last year, a considerable increase from $13bn in 2019. As a result of this unprecedented level of wagering activity, local and state taxes exceeded $210m in 2020.
