When the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams take the field at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, they’ll be playing in front of more Americans with access to regulated sports betting than any two football teams in history.
Those newly legal sports bettors will, according to a recent report from the American Gaming Association (AGA) will likely have $7.6 billion worth of wagers on the big game. That number represents a new record for US sports betting and shows just how ubiquitous the once-forbidden activity has become.
AS of today, some 30 states and Washington DC offer legal sports betting. That giant swatch of America includes about 45 million Americans. According to the AGA, about 18 million of them will have some skin in the big game and they’ll likely wager around $7.6 billion. That represents an astounding 78 percent leap over numbers reported for last year’s big game.
The majority of those Super Bowl wagers, will be placed online. The AGA report suggests that around 12.9 million Americans will be wagering online will around 4 million will be placing their bets in person at land-based casinos and retail outlets.
AGA President and CEO Bill Miller commented on the anticipated Super Bowl boom saying, ” “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.”
As of this writing, Super Bowl wagers are split roughyl 55/45 with a slight majority of bets favoring the Los Angeles Rams.