Super Bowl Betting Could Reach $10 Billion

An estimated $10 billion will be wagered worldwide on Super Bowl XLIX, according to RJ Bell of Vegas-based Pregame.com.

The spread on Friday had the New England Patriots at -2 against the Seattle Seahawks, with the over/under at 47.5. Last year, $119,400,000 was wagered in Las Vegas on the Super Bowl.

Bell added that more than half of adult Americans will bet on this year’s Super Bowl, with less than 1% of the total wagered legally in Nevada. Still, Las Vegas should do well; in the last 24 years of betting on the Super Bowl, Vegas has won 22 times, with the bettors only winning twice.

In 2014, Nevada’s sportsbooks won $227.04 million of the $3.9 billion bettors wagered on sports. The sportsbooks won $19.6 million on the Super Bowl, a record total, then followed that with a $98.16 million profit during the NFL season in 2014. The $19.6 million total, a 16.5% return, was the second highest return for the sportsbooks of any Super Bowl. The highest recorded since 1991 came from the 2005 Super Bowl between the Patriots and Eagles, which returned 17%.

Football dominates sports betting in America; last year bettors gambled $1.74 billion on football, compared to a paltry $54.2 million on basketball and a miniscule $21.2 million on baseball, according to ESPN.

Betting through apps has exploded; Sportsbook operator CG Technology said its apps collected 69% of the total it received.

The wagering on this year’s Super Bowl encompasses a huge range of options, including:

• Who will be the MVP?
• Will Patriots’ Coach Bill Belichick smile?
• Will Marshawn Lynch “grab his crotch” after scoring a TD?
• Will Katy Perry be showing cleavage during halftime show?
• What Color Gatorade will be dumped on winning coach?
• What Color will Belichick’s hoodie be?
• How many times will “Deflated” Balls be said during the game?
• How many times will Gisele Bundchen be shown during game?

New England is 2-6 against the spread in its last 8 games when playing Seattle, and 2-6 straight up in its last 8 games when playing Seattle. Seattle has won 8 straight games.