New analysis released Tuesday indicates sports bettors’ appetite for wagering on the Super Bowl is unrivaled in the United States.
The analysis, created by Legal Sports Report in a partnership with the Sports Betting Alliance, indicates bettors will wager $1.7 billion on the game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks.
Legal Sports Report provided the research and analysis used to develop the Legal Sports Report-Sports Betting Alliance Super Bowl 60 Legal Wager Forecast, a state-by-state projection of legal wagering activity surrounding the Super Bowl, reflecting wagers placed with legal, regulated sportsbooks, and highlights the economic and consumer protection benefits of the legal market.
“This forecast underscores why legal markets matter: when bettors have access to regulated sportsbooks, they choose platforms that protect their data and provide consumer safeguards. When they don’t, they’re forced to seek out illegal offshore operators that offer none of those protections and contribute nothing to communities,” Sports Betting Alliance President Joe Maloney said in a statement. “Legal online sports betting generates billions of dollars in revenue for states and local communities, helping them fund essential public services and programs, in areas like education and health care. Expanding and modernizing legal sports betting isn’t just smart policy – it’s essential to protecting consumers and ensuring (that) communities benefit.”
The year before the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was repealed, legal sports betting in the United States was $158.6 million in 2018, with all monies being attributed to the state of Nevada. Last year, the total bet on the Super Bowl was $1.5 billion in the jurisdictions where sports betting was legal.
This year, New York ($170.7 million) and New Jersey ($160.6 million) are expected to lead jurisdictions where sports betting is legal.
The forecast also reveals legal wagering growth compared to previous years as new jurisdictions, such as Missouri, come online in time for the Super Bowl. Importantly, these legal wagers on the Super Bowl deliver tax revenues possible only through regulated markets, which further require licensed operators to comply with strict consumer protection, transparency, and responsible gaming standards.
“This year’s big game will continue the streak of record Super Bowl handle for the regulated U.S. market,” said LSR analyst Eric Ramsey. “Missouri’s recent launch pads an already favorable outlook for a weekend that serves as the single biggest opportunity of the year for legal sportsbooks and bettors alike. The Sports Betting Alliance is a natural partner for this forecasting project, given the key role its members play in the sustained growth of legal Super Bowl betting.”
The Legal Sports Report-Sports Betting Alliance Super Bowl 60 Legal Wager Forecast also highlights the contrast between legal sportsbooks and illegal or offshore betting operations, which pay no taxes, offer no consumer protections, and undermine state regulatory frameworks.
The full Legal Sports Report-Sports Betting Alliance Super Bowl 60 Legal Wager Forecast is available here.