With the Super Bowl taking place on Sunday, how many US bettors are willing to take their chance on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or will they play ‘safe’ and bet on the favourites?

The majority of states in the US have recently legalised sports betting and those that were still waiting to legalise this form of gambling, were rushing to pass it through before Super Bowl LV.

The reason is plain and simple. The Super Bowl is the most popular sporting event in the US, with last years event drawing in over 100 million US viewers and an estimated $6.8billion wagered.

However, due to the pandemic, last years record is not expected to be broken on Sunday even though a huge number of states have legalised the betting vertical.

According to the American Gaming Association, it is expected that 23.2 million Americans will bet on the event, totaling a $4.3billion handle.

The matchup between Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is not all negative on the sports betting front. Even though the total amount wagered is down from 2020, 7.6 million Americans will bet via online sportsbook this year – up 63% from the previous year.

AGA President and CEO, Bill Miller (pictured) said:

‘This year’s Super Bowl is expected to generate the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history. With a robust legal market, Americans are abandoning illegal bookies and taking their action into the regulated marketplace in record numbers.”

Since last year’s Super Bowl, a number of jurisdictions launched their sports betting markets such as:

1. Colorado
2. Illinois,
3. Michigan,
4. Montana,
5. Tennessee,
6. Virginia
7. The District of Columbia.

These new jurisdictions will allow another 36 million more Americans to bet in a safe and regulated market.

Having said that, there is still an expected drop in Super Bowl betting due to pandemic-led restrictions, resulting in big declines in retail sportsbooks, casual bets and social betting.

Furthermore, as the availability for legal sports betting grows, so has the AGA’s push for responsible gambling. According to a study conducted by Morning Consult:

1. 34% of Americans recall seeing responsible gaming messages in the past year
2. 53% saw responsible gaming messages in the last year

Further findings found that:

1. 1.4 million Americans plan to bet in-person at a sportsbook, down 61 percent from 2020. This comes as no surprise due to the availability of mobile and online betting and the constant restrictions of COVID-19.
2. 1.8 million bettors plan to place a bet with a bookie, down 21%.
3. 4.5 million Americans plan to place a pool, squares, or similar bet, down 19%.
4. 11.9 million Americans plan to bet casually with friends, down 18%.
5. 56% of bettors plan to bet on the Chiefs while 44% plan to bet on the Buccaneers.

Bill Miller also added that:

This data is an encouraging sign that our efforts to ground the expansion of sports betting in responsible gaming is taking hold.

Responsible gaming is core to legal sports betting’s long-term success, and this is borne out by continued demand for consumer protections only available in the legal market.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Sunday and main question surrounding the whole event is – Will Tom Brady get that seventh ring and cement his legacy as the Greatest of All Time?

Source: American Gaming Association

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