A total of 23.2 million Americans will bet a combined US$4.3 billion on next week’s Super Bowl between defending champions Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to research by the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The figure has been boosted by the rise of online sports betting nationwide with 25 states plus Washington DC now offering legalized sports betting. It is estimated that 7.6 million people will place Super Bowl bets with online sportsbooks in 2021 – a 63% increase over last year.
“This year’s Super Bowl is expected to generate the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “With a robust legal market, Americans are abandoning illegal bookies and taking their action into the regulated marketplace in record numbers.”
According to the AGA, 36 million more American adults have access to legal sports betting than this time last year with seven new jurisdictions having opened their doors in that time: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Another 13 states currently have active or pre-filed legislation to legalize sports betting.
The AGA’s data shows that the amount wagered on sports betting nationwide increased from US$13 billion in 2019 to US$21 billion in 2020, with mobile wagering accounting for 82% of all bets placed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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