According to researchers, Super Bowl LVI could see bettors stake $1 billion across legalized US states, about doubling the amount forecast a year ago. 

Money-making Super Bowl

Nevada, which was the second-biggest market in 2021, is projected to generate the largest Super Bowl sports betting handle of $175 million, followed by New York, which has the potential to earn $160 million.

If these projections are accurate, the two regions will generate more betting activity than all licensed sportsbooks in the United States combined for the 2019 game. The PlayUSA estimates are completed by New Jersey ($130 million), Illinois ($75 million), Pennsylvania ($70 million), Arizona ($55 million), Michigan ($45 million), Indiana ($40 million), Colorado ($35 million), Louisiana ($35 million), Virginia ($35 million), and Tennessee ($30 million).

When the NFL championship game takes place on Sunday, 13 February, sports betting will be legal in some form in 30 states and Washington, DC, totaling more than 166.9 million residents.

“Achieving such heights would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, but with the development of sports betting over the last year, it is inevitable that legal wagering will skyrocket.” A billion dollars in legal wagering on a single game would be a significant milestone for the industry,” said Dustin Gouker, PlayUSA’s principal analyst.

These updated forecasts come one year after PlayUSA predicted that over $500 million was wagered on last year’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at legal online or retail sportsbooks. This sum, however, represents a small portion of the more over $50 billion in legal wagers put across the country in 2021. 

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers 20-17, courtesy of 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will square off in the Super Bowl in California, at the former’s Sofi Stadium, following their respective conference championships last weekend. The Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl by defeating the then-favorites Kansas City Chiefs in overtime and on neutral ground, 24-27, just two years after having the NFL’s worst record.

Quotes from the Press Release

“Americans have grown increasingly comfortable with online betting in general and the less conventional wagers it enables, like as in-game wagering,” Eric Ramsey, PlayUSA’s statistics analyst, remarked.

“This should significantly increase Super Bowl betting, which has lured gamblers for years with entertaining prop bets and other unique wagers. The significant change this year is that those types of wagers are easier to place than ever before in more locations.”