Super Bowl LVIII took place in Las Vegas on 11th February. The Kansas City Chiefs faced the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. iGB presents a detailed analysis of some of the most fascinating betting statistics from this game.
The industry was full of high expectations for the Super Bowl 58. They were also right – the game on Sunday was the most watched American TV broadcast since Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk.
Taylor Swift’s presence at the NFL final raised the excitement around it. While American football enthusiasts and once-a year viewers were undoubtedly present, her appearance certainly boosted the buzz. Swift, according to Apex Marketing Group has brought in $331.5m for the National Football League by simply showing up to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce play.
According to a survey conducted by the American Gaming Association, 67.8 millions Americans adults will bet $23.1bn this year on Super Bowl. This is a 35 percent increase in wagerers from 2023. Regulus Partners estimated that $1bn would be spent during the Super Bowl. This is a conservative estimate.
Regulus stated that AGA’s estimate of wagering is somewhat unbelievable when compared with the reality in the US, where the total legal sports betting handle will be $100bn by 2023. All NFL games saw $20 billion wagered in the course of the year.
It has been a very long time since
AGA survey also revealed that 28,7 million US adults planned to bet online with legal US sportsbooks. Regulus claims that the AGA estimates are a good indicator of the faults in the industry, especially around legal sports betting.
Regulus, however, highlighted the positive aspects of the forecasts. This was the success that sports betting channels have had. The report stated that only 19% of betting is done by illegal bookmakers. Legal bookmakers only channel 45% of Super Bowl wagering demand through their channels.
GeoComply’s data on gameday suggests the AGA underestimated the AGA. It recorded a massive spike of traffic in the minutes before kickoff, resulting in 14,750 transactions every second. It is over double the peak of last year and represents the highest transaction per second GeoComply ever recorded.
GeoComply reported that 1,77 million users opened legal online gambling accounts during the two-week period leading up to this game.
Top of the World
This all culminates into a big win for many groups, including the NFL and the US Sports Betting Market. Regulus, however, says that the Super Bowl’s success may spell trouble for the acquisition of new customers.
Regulus noted that “NFL bettors will have to wait until September for the season to get back into full swing. March through August only represents 2% of NFL wagers.” The Super Bowl represents a peak event in a 6-month NFL season. It is worth about 2% or eight to ten times more than an average NFL game. But then, the rest of the NFL season can be boring.
This climax would be great for sports engagement but it is a poor proposition to acquire new customers for gambling unless you can cross-sell into basketball, baseball, or gaming.
The high is about to come down, but it may be worth it. Nevada hosted the Super Bowl this year for the very first time. $185.6 million was wagered across 182 different sportsbooks. This broke the previous state record.
As expected, Super Bowl betting statistics confirm the hype. The operator, FanDuel (which had only one of three sports betting advertisements shown on the Super Bowl broadcast) recorded over 14 million wagers. This totaled a $307m handle record. Over 2.5 million users bet with the operator during the game.
Super Bowl Sunday: Suspicious Transactions Surge 206%
The Super Bowl wasn’t just about pop stars and touchdowns. The Super Bowl was not without its frauds, according to the identification verification service Socure.
Socure reports that on Sunday the number of transactions suspicious on gaming platforms related to fraud increased by 206%. The volume was higher than that of the playoffs in January. Three hours prior to kick-off and at the start of the match, fraudulent betting spiked dramatically.
Socure says that a lot of it comes down to emails. Most transactions were reviewed when an email address wasn’t active.
What is the most likely target group? It’s Gen-Z. Socure discovered that 21 to 25 year olds were the age group who attempted most high-risk transactions. It noted, however, that the high number of fraudulent transactions may be due to a large number of stolen identities in this age range.
Around the world
The popularity of the Super Bowl is not limited to America. Entain published its Super Bowl statistics yesterday, showing that bets in Europe and the UK had increased. The number of women betting increased by 86% from 2020 to 2023.
Entain’s Coral, Ladbrokes, and Bwin brands reported that UK and European wagers increased 12% in comparison to the Super Bowl of last year.
According to Entain, BetMGM (Entain’s joint-venture with MGM Resorts International) data shows that Super Bowl betting has increased 30% annually. The 72% increase of new customers year on year was a major factor in this.
Only Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfair saw a 74% increase in UK Super Bowl betting volume compared to the year 2020.
Super Bowl LVIII was a huge success. The next edition of the Super Bowl, which will be held at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome, Louisiana, is sure to have much to live up too.
