Super Bowl sees record sports betting transactions, but handle slips in Nevada

Super Bowl betting has set a new activity record for US sportsbooks. According to geolocation services provider GeoComply, which verifies the locations where gamblers are betting, 100 million sports wagering transactions were recorded over Super Bowl weekend, an increase of 25% over last year. Sports betting operators have also shared positive assessments of their performance.

Gamblers across the United States placed thousands of wagers over Super Bowl 57, the first one to be played in a state – Arizona – where sports gambling is legal. In and around State Farm Stadium in Glendale, home of the latest edition, more than 100,000 transactions were verified on Sunday, proving enthusiasm for betting on the big game.

Ahead of the game, FanDuel expected to handle more than 17 million Super Bowl bets. At its peak, the sportsbook told CNBC, it accepted 50,000 bets per minute and averaged 2 million active users on its platform throughout the game.

Sports wagering was also intense in Las Vegas. MGM Resorts said it set a new company record for Nevada with the highest Super Bowl handle in history, combining money spent in its nine retail sportsbooks on the Strip and placed online. “This was BetMGM’s most successful Super Bowl and most bet on a single game sporting event ever,” the company told CNBC.

However, amid heightened competition, Nevada sportsbooks combined took in $153.2 million in Super Bowl bets, falling short of last year’s record tally. Nevada sportsbooks held 7.4% of all wagers, collecting $11.3 million, indicated to be the lowest total since 2019. 

The value of bets placed in Silver State sportsbooks on this year's Super Bowl was 14.8% below 2022. Nevada Gaming Control Board senior economic analyst Michael Lawton said many sportsbook operators expected Nevada to lose some betting action to host state Arizona. 

Kirk Hendrick

Next year's Super Bowl will be held at the home of the Las Vegas Raiders and many experts are expecting betting around that game to reach new heights. "The Nevada Gaming Control Board looks forward to Allegiant Stadium hosting Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas next year," Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick said in a news release.

According to analysts, the overall above-average Super Bowl hold rate for US online sports betting sites sets some operators to issue stronger-than-anticipated guidance alongside their upcoming earnings reports. However, one operator fumbled the big game: Caesars Entertainment’s William Hill, which suffered a devastating systems outage that could come up in their Q1 report.

Ahead of the big game, trade group American Gaming Association projected a record 50.4 million Americans would wager $16 billion on this year’s Super Bowl, double last year’s estimate. That figure includes not only legal bets but also wagers with unregulated, offshore sites, and social bets among friends, family and coworkers.