Betting on the Super Bowl was brisk at sportsbooks in big U.S. markets

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — With this year’s Super Bowl being played in Las Vegas, the nation’s gambling capital, there was little doubt that betting on the big game would be huge.

Statistics from several states where sports betting is legal are proving that prediction was true.

Nevada’s sportsbooks set a record by taking $185.6 million in wagers on the game, in which the Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive championship by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime.

The books kept $6.8 million as winnings, up from $4.3 million a year ago, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said.

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The total amount of bets at Nevada’s 182 sportsbooks broke the previous record of $179.8 million from the 2022 Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. The 2023 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles brought in $153.1 million worth of bets.

In New Jersey, the nine Atlantic City casinos, the three horse tracks that take sports bets, and their online partners handled $141.6 million in bets on the Super Bowl, according to the state Division of Gaming Enforcement -- an increase of 30% over last year’s total.

This resulted in a win of nearly $8.5 million for the sportsbooks, down from $12.8 million a year ago.

In Pennsylvania, $71.5 million was wagered on the Super Bowl, down 15% from last year’s Super Bowl, in which the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Chiefs.

Other states with big sports betting markets, including New York and Illinois, had yet to report betting levels for this year’s Super Bowl as of Wednesday evening.

Maine, which offered Super Bowl gambling for the first time, saw about $3.5 million wagered online, according to an estimate from the state’s Gambling Control Unit.

Simplebet, the micro-betting site popular with gamblers who want to bet on isolated moments within a game, said it saw double-digit increases in the number of bets on the Super Bowl (1 million, up 33%) and the total amount wagered ($17 million, up 29%.)

“We’re thrilled to see the deep engagement from bettors across the country,” company CEO Chris Bevilacqua said. “The increased engagement with Simplebet markets we’ve seen this season is consistent with the overall increase in the NFL TV ratings.”

BetMGM said it took 30% more bets on this year’s Super Bowl than on last year’s, although it did not reveal the actual number.

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Follow Wayne Parry on X, formerly Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC