By NICK NATALE
The Kansas City Chiefs were crowned Super Bowl champions over the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2, but these teams may not be the only big winners and losers. Gamblers across the country took part in a myriad of bets, on what is widely considered the largest sports gambling day of the year. However, it were the sportsbooks that game out victorious.
With sports betting rising in popularity, the money and stakes have never been higher. Odds makers and companies like Fanduel, DraftKings, and Bet MGM, set the numbers for Super Bowl 54, with the Chiefs being 1.5 point favorites as well as the game’s over/under at 53.5 points. To go along with those were a number of prop bets, such as the length of the national anthem, whether the coin toss would land heads or tails, and even the color of the winning team’s Gatorade. Despite sports gambling only being legal on a state to state basis, casinos, bookies and online sportsbooks still made massive paydays.
“Sports gambling just adds another element to watching sports that’s hard to describe. It doesn’t matter if you have $1 or $100 on a game it raises the intensity,” said sports gambler Anthony Tucci, a 21 year old Oakland, NJ resident.
PHOTO/New York Post
Sports betting and Las Vegas had become synonymous with each other for years, but since the Supreme Court annulled a 1992 federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting in 2018, states such as New Jersey have finally been able to get in on the action. This has now paved the way for all citizens in the state over the age of 21 to legally bet. Now with it legal to gamble in the state of New Jersey, sportsbooks are making more money on games like the Super Bowl then they could have imagined. Tucci explained why he enjoys sports betting and why the Super Bowl is the crown jewel for gamblers.
“I already love watching the Super Bowl, but when you have hundreds of dollars spread out on a bunch of different bets it makes you feel like the game is just as important for you as it the players. There’s nothing like the Super Bowl when it comes to gambling. No other sporting event in the entire year is as big or offers the most chances to win money… it’s the Holy Grail of gambling.”
Casinos and Sportsbooks Bring in the Big Bucks
From Las Vegas to New Jersey, casinos and sportsbooks have been reporting record wagers compared to past years. According to Nevada’s Gaming Control Board, the entire state had $154.67 million in wagers and are reporting that sports books brought in over $18.77 million in profit. On the other side of the country the second largest gambling market, New Jersey, casinos and horse tracks took in over $54.2 million in wagers, up from $34.8 million last year.
Las Vegas Super Bowl Betting? Out of the $154.7 million wagered, the books held $18.8 million (12.1%)
New Jersey Super Bowl Betting ?Sportsbooks lost $4.28 million on $54.28 million worth of bets placed.
Bettors in Nevada were more likely to take SF due to its proximity. ? pic.twitter.com/QOg4Iphlyc
— CryptoBet.com ? (@CryptoBetCom) February 5, 2020
As gambling grows nationally, large scale popular television and entertainment companies like FOX Sports, Bleacher Report, and Barstool Sports have recently expanded into the world of gambling entertainment. Super Bowl week in particular seems to draw in even the most casual of fans. People specifically have tuned in for gamble advice and tips for the big game. Casual gamblers such as Max Birrer focused on what the “experts” had to say when it came to the Super Bowl.
“There is so much money to be had betting on the Super Bowl that I turned to the people who know more than me. Most of the bets I place I do a little research and go with my gut, but because this is such a big game and there is so much to bet on, I knew going with my gut probably wasn’t the best option,” said Birrer. “I follow gambling accounts on Twitter that are reliable so I trusted them for a majority of the bets I place.”
As gambling starts to spread across the country and more money is being poured in, sporting events like the Super Bowl will continue to gain popularity.
The use of social media along with the statistics that were provided on gambling really show the impact of how much money is generated from legal gambling. The quotes also emphasize why people are attracted to gambling and why it rakes in so much money. If anything I would be a little more interested in negative trends since it has been legalized (if there are any negative trends of course)