No Surprise! Nevada Sportsbooks Set Record for Super Bowl Betting
The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the numbers for Super Bowl LVI. The close game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals brought a record-setting weekend for the Silver State, totaling a handle of $179.8 million for the game.
How Sportsbooks Faired for the Big Game
The previous handle record came in 2018 when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33, which noted a handle of $158.6 million. This year’s handle for the game signified the highest amount wagered in any of the Super Bowls in the last decade by more than $20 million.
The game looked like it would be heading into overtime until the Rams defense made some crucial plays down the stretch. By not heading into overtime, sportsbooks operators benefited as the Rams were four-point favorites on many sportsbooks by game time.
Nevada sportsbooks were able to net $15.4 million with a hold of 8.6 percent. This was the fourth most profitable for sports betting providers since the state started recording the numbers in 1991 for the big game.
The hold percentage was also the fifth highest recorded win percentage for the past ten Super Bowls. Many bettors were hoping for a different result as a Bengals outright win would have shifted the results instead of favoring the house.
Out of all the Super Bowl handles reported so far throughout the industry, Nevada owns the highest total so far. New Jersey ($143.7 million), Pennsylvania ($68 million), and Illinois ($60.5 million) are the markets that follow.
This Super Bowl Also Set Other New Records
There were numerous factors that contributed to setting a record for the total amount wagered for the Super Bowl. The pandemic played a huge factor in last year’s game which restricted the number of people that could enter the casinos. Another factor is in-game betting, and props increased the growth of mobile sports betting.
DraftKings was also reported to have approximately 1.7 million active users on its platform during the game. Just moments before kickoff, DraftKings stated that its platform had an average betting volume of about 21,000 bets per minute.
Looking at the year-to-date data for the company, DraftKings reported an increase of 40 percent in wagers in that span. GeoComply also noted that 5.6 million unique accounts accessed these reputable sportsbooks over Super Bowl weekend, which showed an increase of 95 percent since last year.
The American Gaming Association predicted that this Super Bowl would set new records as it projected that 31.4 million Americans meeting the age requirement would place wagers on the game. That projection would be an increase of 35 percent over the year.
Bill Miller, AGA President, and CEO, stated in a press release;
“The results are clear: 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.”
The next few Super Bowls will be in states that have established sports betting markets. However, it’s important to note that as more states push to legalize sports betting, more people will have access to reputable sportsbooks.
