An estimated 67.8 million Americans will bet a record $23.1bn on this weekend’s Super Bowl, according to an industry survey, as a nationwide gambling boom continues.
Super Bowl LVIII is widely expected to be the biggest sports betting event in United States history. It will take place in Las Vegas amid mounting concern over rising gambling addiction rates.
Nearly 43 million people intend to place a sports wager online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie, as the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to take on the San Francisco 49ers, the American Gaming Association (AGA) said – up 41% from last year’s event.
A further 36.5 million plan to bet casually with friends or as part of a pool or squares contest, according to the AGA – up 32% from 2023. The estimates were extracted from a Morning Consult poll of 2,204 adults.
The supreme court struck down a decades-old law in 2018 that had banned sports betting across much of the nation. The market is now legal in 38 states, attracting billions of dollars in wagers each month.
Bill Miller, president and CEO of the AGA, described Sunday’s Super Bowl as a “full circle moment” for the US gambling sector. “Our priority remains getting this opportunity right,” he said, “by providing the consumer protections only a regulated market can guarantee and investing in responsible gambling tools, safeguards and education.”
This market’s rapid growth has coincided with a spike in addiction cases, according to clinicians, counselors and campaigners, prompting calls for new federal laws to bring down problem gambling rates.
The “gambling hype” surrounding the Super Bowl “makes this an especially challenging time for anyone with a gambling problem or in recovery from such a problem”, noted Felicia Grondin, executive director of New Jersey’s Council on Compulsive Gambling.
She pointed to the high volume of in-game “prop” bets, on everything from the coin toss to the color of Gatorade used to soak the winning coach. “The capacity to wager throughout the game allows gamblers to take as many risks as there are plays,” said Grondin, “and with every setback comes the temptation to try to recoup one’s losses with yet another bet.”
In Washington DC, legislation has been proposed to provide greater support for gambling addicts by diverting taxes already raised on sports wagers towards services. But much of the industry has pushed back hard, with the AGA even suggesting the legislation would “give criminals a leg up” by hampering legal gambling operators.
