You don’t have to know a factor about soccer to guess actual cash on the Tremendous Bowl. This yr, as on-line betting expands nationwide, would-be gamblers have a whole lot of zany (and authorized) Tremendous Bowl-adjacent bets at their fingertips: from what the primary phrase Usher will say throughout his halftime efficiency as to whether Kansas Metropolis Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift will announce a shock being pregnant.
The Tremendous Bowl is a money magnet: business analysis estimates gamblers will guess a document $1.3 billion on the Huge Sport this yr. And the motion goes nicely past simply betting on factors scored and who will win the sport. Authorized playing’s explosive rise has inspired sportsbooks to supply dozens of so-called “novelty” proposition bets, which assist entice a non-sports-savvy clientele.
Ever for the reason that Supreme Court docket legalized sports activities betting in 2018, sportsbooks have been racing to get state-level working approval and money in on the $280 billion playing market. Estimates range broadly in regards to the dimension of the web playing market particularly, with one market analysis agency placing it at $2.5 billion in 2022 and the information supplier Statista placing it at $9 billion the yr after that, nevertheless it’s clear this can be a giant and rising market.
A 2022 Pew examine discovered {that a} full 20% of Individuals had guess cash on sports activities within the final yr, a quantity that’s doubtless elevated as playing apps have proliferated and gained market share—it’s now authorized in 38 states.
Youthful males are considerably extra more likely to guess on sports activities, however prop bets like those sportsbooks are rolling out forward of the Tremendous Bowl assist attract a youthful, much less sports-obsessed crowd (and their cash)—Swifties very a lot included.
The primary ever Tremendous Bowl prop guess was provided as a gag by Caesars in 1986—the sportsbook put 20-to-1 odds on 330-pound Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “The Fridge” Perry scoring a landing. Perry shocked the soccer world when he ran for a one-yard rating, and prop bets took off.
“Back in 1986, we were given permission to take some bets outside of the core game markets,” Caesars Leisure COO and Head of Sports activities Ken Fuchs informed Fortune. “Obviously, there’s things like the coin toss and first touchdown scored and other things … it really kind of set prop [bets] as a cultural phenomenon.”
This Tremendous Bowl, prop bettors can put their cash on classes reminiscent of whether or not the opening coin toss shall be heads or tails (the market favors tails), what shade Gatorate shall be poured over the profitable coach after the sport (good cash says purple), and even the place Kelce and Swift will spend Valentine’s Day post-game. (Sydney, Australia, has the very best odds, however a long-shot wager on Zambia guarantees a a lot larger potential payout.)
Tremendous Bowl LVIII is anticipated to be a record-setting occasion for the sports activities playing business: analysts estimate the overall quantity of bets positioned shall be 20% greater than final yr, which might characterize an almost 1,000% acquire because it was first legalized in 2018. (Sports activities betting has introduced in over $4 billion in nationwide tax income over the identical interval.)
The situation and star-studded groups competing on this yr’s Tremendous Bowl make it a primary candidate to shatter betting information.
“Las Vegas has become a professional sports town. There’s no other city on earth that can mesh entertainment and sports the way Las Vegas can,” mentioned Fuchs. “You’re going to have a record-breaking game in terms of interest and transaction volume.”