US Sports Fans Placed Record-Breaking Amounts on Super Bowl LV

U.S. sports fans proved once again that the Super Bowl is the country’s favorite game. Millions of fans placed sports bets in multiple U.S. states on the Super Bowl LV that was played on Sunday, February 7.

Sports Fans Wagered Record-Breaking Amounts on the Super Bowl

This year’s Super Bowl LV once again proved to be America’s favorite championship game. The 55th Super Bowl was played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and launched on Sunday, February 7 in front of more than 24,000 people live audience and millions of fans behind the TV screens. The game determined the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2020 NFL season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced Kansas City Chiefs and won 31-9.

Although the COVID-19 restrictions are still in place across the U.S., this did not stop the millions of sports fans that wanted to place a legal bet on the Super Bowl. Last week, the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated that approximately 23.2 million Americans would wager on the Super Bowl which represents a year-on-year increase of 63%.

Sports fans did not disappoint and placed record-breaking amounts of money in states where sports betting is legal. As a result, millions of payouts were paid while operators also made a good profit and at the same time raised tax revenue.

Nevadans and Tennesseans Wagered Millions on Super Bowl LV

Numbers revealed by the Gaming Control Board on Tuesday showed that approximately $136.1 million was wagered on the Super Bowl in Nevada. This made the competition the fifth-highest wagered game for the sportsbooks in the state. Although the result was good, considering the COVID-19 capacity restrictions, a year-on-year comparison marks a 12% decrease in total wagers.

Last year, on Super Bowl LIV, Nevada’s sportsbooks recorded wagers of $154.7 million. Back in 2018, the result was even higher when sports fans wagered $158.6 million on the competition. Although the regulator released the total amount of wagers, it did not disclose what percentage of that amount was bet online.

The sports betting market in Tennessee was legalized back in 2019 but did not launch until November last year. Regardless that it has only been a few months, sports betting in the state was off to a flying start, generating $312.3 million in gross bets only for 2 months. Furthermore, sports fans in the state managed to wager some $20 million on the Super Bowl alone. The first big sport event which sports fans were able to legally wager on would bring approximately $320,000 in tax revenue which will reach the state’s education programs.

Sports Fans in New Jersey, Illinois, and Colorado Wagered Millions Too

Elsewhere, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, sports fans this year placed double the amount of wagers on the Super Bowl, when compared to 2020. The casinos and horse race tracks in Atlantic City recorded approximately $117.4 million in wagers on Super Bowl LV. Taking out the payouts which are estimated at roughly $106.1 million leaves the sportsbook operators with $11.3 million in profits. If we draw a year-on-year comparison on the total number of Super Bowl wagers in Atlantic City we see an increase of 116% from $54.3 million in 2020.

Besides New Jersey, Illinois, where sports betting is also legal, marked a significant amount in wagers. Numbers released by the Illinois Gaming Board on Monday outlined that the total handle of sports betting wagers on Super Bowl LV reached $45,610,513. Out of that total, more than $42 million were the bets which sports fans placed online. Focusing on taxes, the wagers placed on the Super Bowl this year would raise approximately $1,148,890 in gambling tax revenue for Illinois.

Recent numbers released by the Colorado Division of Gaming also showed a significant amount of money was wagered on the Super Bowl. Sports fans in the state wagered approximately $31.2 million on Super Bowl LV. According to the regulator, $17 million out of the total amount were wagered on the game day.