The Super Bowl has always been nirvana for sports lovers and gamblers. The sports betting market in the US is becoming increasingly competitive but the punters are reaping the most rewards. In the country, gamblers reportedly ponied up more than $100 million in sports betting transactions during this year’s Super Bowl weekend.
Super Bowl 57 was predicted to be the most wagered-on-game in the country’s gambling history. This year, more than half of the adult population in the country had access to legal sports betting with 33 states plus Washington DC now enjoying sports betting in one form or another.
According to the American Gaming Association, this amount was an increase of 25% compared to Super Bowl 2022. Last year’s Super Bowl was a record one with an estimated $7.61 billion gambled in the U.S. GeoComply, which verifies the locations where punters are gambling from, recorded more than 100,000 transactions in the Glendale area alone, which is proof of the punters’ enthusiasm for the big game.
This year’s Super Bowl was held at State Farm Stadium in Arizona on February 12th. The 2023 Super Bowl was the 3rd at the State Farm Stadium and the 4th iteration hosted in the Phoenix urban area. Super Bowl 57 was also the first Super Bowl to be hosted in a state with legal sports betting, which largely helped to attract punters by their thousands.
Before the game kicked off, several sports betting operators had made projections ahead of kickoff. For instance, FanDuel had anticipated accepting at least 17 million wagers on the Super Bowl. At its highest, FanDuel allegedly took in 50,000 wagers per minute and wagered close to 2 million active users on the online casino throughout the game.
Sports punters in Vegas were also not left behind. MGM Resorts claims that it set a new brand record in the state with the highest handle in history purely from the Super Bowl. As competition in the Vegas gambling market continues to mount, sportsbooks in the state reportedly accepted $153.2 million in Super Bowl bets, which was slightly lower than 2021’s tally.
According to AGA, Sportsbooks in Nevada held 7.4% of all Super Bowl sportsbook wagers. This allowed sportsbooks in the state to generate approximately $11.3 million, which was the lowest revenue collected since 2019. Part of the reason Nevada did not generate as many wagers from the event as it did last year is due to Arizona’s new gambling market.
But sportsbooks in Nevada are hopeful that next year’s Super Bowl will be one with a difference as it will be held at the Las Vegas Raiders’ stadium, in Paradise Nevada. With the event being held at the Allegiant Stadium, this should help to attract visitors while boosting its revenue.
What we cover
New Jersey sportsbooks celebrate record Super Bowl 2023
New Jersey was one of the 3 states in the country that were predicted to generate revenues topping $100 million during Super Bowl LVII. Needless to say, the Garden State did not disappoint. According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, sportsbooks in New Jersey produced more than $109 million in legal wagers.
In 2023, combined wagers plummeted by more than 24% from 2022’s record-breaking performance of $143.7 million. In total, sportsbooks made $7.8 million in revenue, which was a huge drop compared to the $12.8 million produced during Super Bowl 2022. Despite the drop in revenue compared to last year’s Super Bowl, New Jersey’s 12 brick-and-mortar locations and 27 sports betting apps still managed to top $100 million for the 3rd consecutive year.
This drop in revenue was also not a surprise. New Jersey’s revenue isn’t as high as it used to be thanks to neighboring New York, which is now the biggest and most profitable gambling market in the country. Last year, the Empire State posted $472 million in bets over Super Bowl week based on figures shared by the New York State Gaming Commission.
Since sports betting was legalized in New York last year on January 8th, the Empire State’s sports betting market has quickly emerged as the country’s biggest. In just the first 30 days of legal gambling, New York bettors placed bets worth more than $2 million, the highest handle that any state in the country has ever recorded for the 30 days since launching.
Over the last year, the entire country has watched in amazement as mobile sports betting has become an economic engine for the state. The funds generated from sports wagers have been re-directed to fund school projects, youth sports, and many other community projects.
We already know that the state’s 9 sportsbooks generated a handle of $424.3 million for the week that concluded on February 12th. The state’s gaming commission reported that its GGR by the first week of February 2023 had reached $41.2 million.
While Nevada has been leading the ranks over the last few years in Super Bowl wagers, New York has become a real dominant force in the country’s gambling market. FanDuel was the biggest revenue generator during the Super Bowl week having accepted bets worth $165.4 million.
This impressive handle would end up producing revenue worth $9.2 million. DraftKings maintained its second place in New York’s revenue table with $150.4 million in gambling and a consequent $2.9 million in takings. In third place was Caesars Sportsbook which produced a handle of $58.9 million.
Other states also recorded striking handles and revenues. For instance, Colorado reportedly generated a total handle of $38 million, which was slightly lower compared to last year’s $41 million. The New Hampshire Lottery Commission, on the other hand, announced that its residents wagered $9.2 million on Super Bowl LVII, which was a massive increase of $7.7 million compared to Super Bowl 2022.
Final Thoughts
Super Bowl LVII has been concluded and by all standards, the event was a massive success! The Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles generated some great profits for the country’s sportsbooks.
During this year’s Super Bowl, New Jersey remained firmly in third place for the combined cash gambled on the game just behind Nevada and market leader New York. The good news is that other states such as Ohio and Illinois still have a lot of catching up to do and often look to New Jersey to set standards.
