Super Bowl Forecast: Hot, with 35% more people betting.
That means 31.4 million American adults are expected to bet on Super Bowl LVI.
In a Feb. 8 press release, the American Gaming Association forecasted big year-over-year increases in Super Bowl betting for the Feb. 13 Big Game. In addition to predicting increased wagerers, their research says those bettors will spend over $7.61 billion on their guesses, hunches, and hopes.
That’s a jump of $3.33 billion (+78%) from last year. This jump equals the setting of new records where Super Bowl betting is concerned.
So it looks like Super Bowl LVI will be the most bet-on game ever. The increase of legally available sports betting in states including Louisiana seems to make people more apt to put down some money on the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals match up.
According to Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, a national trade group:
“Americans have never been more interested in legal sports wagering. The growth of legal options across the country not only protects fans and the integrity of games and bets but also puts illegal operators on notice that their time is limited.”
Predictions of plenty
The American Gaming Association’s research-based annual Super Bowl predictions include these for Super Bowl LVI:
- 18.2 million American adults will make traditional sports bets online, at a sportsbook, or with a bookie. That’s an increase of 78% over last year’s Big Game.
- 18.5 million adults expect to make casual bets with friends, or as part of a pool or squares contest for a jump of 23% over 2021.
- 76% say they consider it important for themselves that they bet through a legal operator, a jump of 11% from 2021.
- 55% plan to bet on the Rams
- 45% plan to bet on the Bengals
More states means more bets
In addition to Louisiana, 29 states and Washington, D.C. offer legalized sports betting. States who joined the sports betting bandwagon in the past year include:
- Arizona
- Connecticut
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Louisiana finally joined the sports betting lineup in October of 2021, with sportsbooks opening at tribal and retail locations. And just in time for the Super Bowl, mobile sports betting arrived.
It’s now operational in 55 parishes through sportsbooks including:
American Gaming Association game plan
The American Gaming Association’s Have a Game Plan ® Bet Responsibly™ promotes responsible gaming. In its Feb. 8 press release, the Association asserts that 12% more people recall viewing responsible gaming advertising in the past year than in 2020.
The Association’s NFL team partners include the Washington Commanders and the New York Jets.
With the advent of legalized sports betting though, there are some sounding alarms about lurking increases in problem gambling.
He likes big bets
Remember that $7.61 billion mentioned at the top of this article? Well, looks like a businessman who goes by “Mattress Mack” could be responsible for $4.5 million of that with the largest Super Bowl LVI bet so far.
It also ranks as the biggest mobile bet ever and the biggest bet ever for Mack, no stranger to whopping bets.
Word is he put that amount down on the Bengals moneyline at +170 odds. Winning would net him $7.7 million.
Mattress Mack placed that bet by making over 20 bets of $20,000 through Caesars Sportsbook. And since he lives in Texas where sports betting remains illegal, he made his giant wager from a gas station… in Louisiana.
