- Nevada reported just over $136 million in betting handle for Super Bowl 55
- Nevada’s 184 casinos reported $12.6 million in profit thanks to the Buccaneers’ upset win over the Chiefs
- Industry experts blamed the pandemic for the downturn in Super Bowl betting interest
Super Bowl 55 came with an awful lot of hype. The matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady was billed as one of the most exciting quarterback matchups in Super Bowl history. However, the game itself didn’t provide much drama in the end. Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wound up cruising to an easy 31-9 victory over Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
While over 90 million Americans tuned into the game, Super Bowl 55 was also a pretty big disappointment from a betting perspective. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Nevada’s 184 sportsbooks profited $12.6 million on a total amount wagered of $136.1 million on the game. That was a win rate of 9.2 percent for Nevada’s sportsbooks.
However, betting interest, in general, was down considerably. The $136.1 million wagered was the lowest amount risked at Nevada sportsbooks since the Denver Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 back in 2016. That game generated just over $132 million in handle.
The Pandemic to Blame?
Many within the industry blamed the pandemic for the lack of interest. Nick Bogdanovich of William Hill US told the Las Vegas Review-Journal,
“If there was no COVID, we would’ve broke the all-time record. It was all COVID-related. People love coming to the Super Bowl parties here in Nevada. COVID knocked it out, it’s that simple.”
Super Bowl 55 broke a three-year streak of record-breaking Super Bowl betting handle in Nevada. The state broke its old existing record every year between 2016 and 2018, topping out at $158.6 million worth of bets for Super Bowl 52 between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. The Chiefs’ 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 last year generated $154.7 million in handle.
Fewer people trekked to Las Vegas to watch Super Bowl 55 due to the ongoing pandemic. Michael Lawton, a senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, blamed the drop in handle on capacity restrictions that have been imposed at casinos all over the Silver State.
Lawton said,
“In Nevada, Super Bowl handle is driven by visitation and Las Vegas, along with other areas across the state, are destination markets for customers to come and wager on the game. Overall, considering the factors that Nevada sportsbooks were facing, these figures represent the fifth-highest total all-time for Super Bowl betting volumes since Nevada began recording these figures in 1991. That being said, the Board is very pleased with these results.”
Record-Setting Handle for New Jersey, Illinois
In all, eight states around the US have reported their Super Bowl 55 numbers. Nevada’s $136 million in handle was still easily the highest amount wagered on the game in any state. New Jersey reported $117.4 million in handle, which ranked second. New Jersey is home to the fastest-growing sports betting industry in the country. The $117.4 million in handle shattered the amount of $54.3 million generated for last year’s Super Bowl. That was a surge of well over 100 percent. New Jersey’s books profited by just over $11 million thanks to Tampa Bay’s upset victory.
Illinois ($45.6 million) ranked third in Super Bowl handle, followed by Colorado ($30 million), Iowa ($16.3 million), Mississippi ($8 million), Oregon ($3.4 million), and Delaware ($1.9 million). Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee are among the states with legalized sports betting industries that will not be publicly releasing details specifically for Super Bowl 55.
93.7 percent of all bets placed on Super Bowl 55 in Illinois were made online. Illinois’ sportsbooks made nearly $8 million in profit on the game, which was a surprisingly high hold rate of 16.8 percent. Many believe the hold rate was significantly higher in Illinois because the state is a neighbor to Missouri. It’s reasonable to assume that tons of pro-Chiefs bets were placed in Illinois with Chiefs fans crossing state lines to place their legal wagers.
States with legal betting industries topped $280 million in handle in 2020, and PlayUSA expected over $500 million in total handle for this year’s game. A number of states voted to legalize and open up their own industries between Super Bowls 54 and 55, which were expected to result in over three times the total number of Super Bowl-related wagers across the US.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
