The Super Bowl is in Las Vegas for the first time this year, but bets on the big game are expected to rise well beyond Sin City.
A record 67.8 million Americans -- about 26% of the country's adult population -- are expected to wager an estimated $23.1 billion on Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, according to research from the American Gaming Association. That $23.1 billion is a 35% increase from the $16 billion estimate from the AGA's 2023 research ahead of Super Bowl LVII.
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The AGA expects 42.7 million American adults to place a traditional sports wager online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie and another 36.5 million to bet casually with friends or in a pool or squares contest. With legal online sports gambling legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., the AGA expects 28.7 million adults to place online wagers using a legal U.S. sportsbook.
"As the Super Bowl comes to Las Vegas for the first time, this year’s record interest in wagering marks a full circle moment for the U.S. gaming industry," AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said. "Our priority remains getting this opportunity right by providing the consumer protections only a regulated market can guarantee and investing in responsible gambling tools, safeguards and education."
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The AGA got its figures from a survey of 2,204 adults conducted by data firm Morning Consult.
When it comes to the actual matchup on the field, bettors are just about split with 47% expecting the Chiefs to repeat as Super Bowl champions and 44% expected to side with the 49ers.
Significant Super Bowl bets have already started rolling in. Caesars in Las Vegas said last week that it took a $1 million bet on a 49ers win and a $100,000 bet on the Super Bowl coin toss to land tails.
