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According to a projections by PlayUSA, this year's Super Bowl LVI could generate $1 billion in wagers at legal online and retail sportsbooks across the country. This estimate is nearly double last year's estimated Super Bowl handle of more than $500 million. Sports betting continue to growth in the United States. By the time this year's Super Bowl plays on Feb. 13th, sports betting is legal in at least some in 30 states and Washington D.C., and 10 of those states launched sports betting since last year's Super Bowl.
Nevada was the second-largest market in 2021 and historically the top Super Bowl maket. PlayUSA projects that Nevada will produce the largest Super Bowl handle this year with $175 million. New York and New Jersey could generate $160 million and $130 million respectively.
"It would have seemed impossible just a few years ago to reach such heights, but with the expansion of sports betting over the last year it is inevitable that legal wagering will soar," said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayUSA.com.
PlayUSA estimates that more than $50 billion in legal wagers placed on sporting events across the country throughout 2021. The Super Bowl is the most-wagered-on single sporting event in the U.S.
For this year's game:
- Sports betting is legal in at least some in 30 states and Washington D.C. Those jurisdictions represent more than 166.9 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2021. By contrast, 120 million people lived in 21 legal sports betting jurisdictions for last year's Super Bowl.
- New York, which was limited to retail sportsbooks last year, launched online betting in early January. New York is already on pace to shatter the U.S. record for monthly handle, which New Jersey set in October with $1.3 billion in bets.
- Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming launched sports betting since last year's Super Bowl.
- No team from a state with legal sportsbooks has ever played in the Super Bowl. Ohio awaits launch sometime over the next year and California lawmakers debate legalization.
"More than half of all Americans now live in a legal jurisdiction, and even well-established markets such as New Jersey and Nevada have grown significantly over the last year as mobile betting gains in popularity," said Eric Ramsey, data analyst for PlayUSA.
Source: PlayUSA
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