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PlayUSA analysts are estimating that $325 million of legal wagers will be laid on this weekend’s Super Bowl in the United States.
Eight states now have legal sports betting. Most remains in state casinos, but online wagering is growing fast. Take on and offline together and sports fans now have 261 legal options for where to place sports bets.
Nevada remains the biggest gambling state for Super Bowl betting
Over a million Americans are expected to place legal wagers, with the breakdown of where the money will go as follows:
- Nevada: $160 million
- New Jersey: $100 million
- Pennsylvania: $30 million
- Mississippi: $17.5 million
- West Virginia: $10 million
- Delaware: $5 million
- Rhode Island: $1 million
- New Mexico–$500,000
Last year, Nevada took in $158.6 million when the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33. Hold percentage and overall win was just $1.17 million, a figure that the Silver State casinos are hoping will improve this year.
Rams vs. Patriots creates high levels of fan engagement
The Patriots are back to try again in 2019, looking for a record breaking sixth Super Bowl Victory. The LA Rams will not make it easy. They want to avenge Super Bowl XXXVI, when the Patriots defeated the then-St. Louis Rams 20-17.
The history between the two teams is making for extra excitement and that could translate into extra betting. Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayUSA.com said:
“We’re setting the line at a $100 million in legal bets in New Jersey and $325 million in total bets placed on the game at legal sportsbooks nationwide. The excitement of being able to legally place a bet for the first time in New Jersey, an intriguing matchup with two high-powered offenses and plenty of star power, and the proliferation of proposition bets, should all combine to make for an impressive total.”
The big money remains in the black market
The American Gaming Association (AGA) put out its own survey findings on Jan 28. The survey conducted by Morning Consult, found that:
- 22.7 million American adults plan to bet on Sunday’s game;
- 52 percent say they will bet on the Rams, while 48 percent will bet on the Patriots;
- Americans say they will wager a total of $6 billion on the Super Bowl.
Put PlayUSA’s numbers together with the AGA survey results and some unpleasant numbers result:
- Over 21 million Americans will bet with an unlicensed operator;
- $5.65 billion of the $6 billion wagered will go to the black market.
Bill Miller, AGA’s president and chief executive officer is highly conscious of the problem:
“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 sooner more states adopt sensible legal sports betting policies, the sooner the vast sums of money wagered illegally can be brought back to US shores.
