More than 23 million Americans to bet on Super Bowl LV
Since last year’s NFL showpiece another 36 million Americans have access to legal wagering after seven additional states went live
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has estimated that 23.2 million Americans will place wagers totaling $4.3bn on Super Bowl LV this weekend.
The industry trade body has also forecast that 7.6 million people will gamble with a legal online sportsbook, a jump of 63% compared with last year’s showpiece event.
The research, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the AGA, anticipates that 11.9 million will bet casually with friends, while 4.5 million will place a pool, squares or similar bet.
But with seven jurisdictions having gone live with sports betting in the last 12 months – Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington DC – another 36 million people have access to legal options.
“This year’s Super Bowl is expected to generate the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history,” AGA president and CEO Bill Miller said.
“With a robust legal market, Americans are abandoning illegal bookies and taking their action into the regulated marketplace in record numbers,” Miller added.
However, overall betting is expected to drop slightly year-on-year as many retail sportsbooks remain closed due to Covid-19 and friends and families avoid meeting up to watch the game.
The study also found 34% of the sample reported seeing responsible gambling messaging in the past year, up 5% on the previous 12 months.
Miller said: “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,” he added.
As things stand, 25 states and Washington DC have legal sports betting, with 21 states operational. Another 13 have active or pre-filed legislation.
According to the AGA $21bn was wagered on sports in 2020, up from $13bn the previous year, generating more than $210m in taxes, while mobile accounted for 82% of legal bets nationwide.