Super Bowl LIII Gambling Reaches New Levels: Americans Bet $6 Billion On Game, Legally & Illegally

This Super Bowl is the first game to be bet on since legal sports-books began outside of Nevada. That’s only encouraged people to put money on the big game. When the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams face off in Atlanta on February 3, an estimated $6 billion will be riding on the matchup. That includes both illegal and legal bets, from friendly wagers to casino books.

NFL Fans Bet $6BN On Rams-Patriots Super Bowl Matchup

“The interest in legal, regulated sports betting in the United States has never been higher,” Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, said in a release announcing the survey results. “More Americans than ever before will be able to place their bets with legal sports-books now operating in eight states.”

In May, the Supreme Court shot down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Without that legislation, state-restricted gambling can occur outside of Nevada. Legal bets can be placed in Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia as well as Nevada.

Though 22.7 million Americans will wind up betting on the game legally, 1.8 million will most likely place an illegal bet. Those numbers don’t include the millions who’ll place an offshore bet.

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According to CBS Sports, New England is a 2.5-point favorite. Expect a high-scoring outing as the over-under is set at 56.5. These lines can move throughout the rest of the week as new bets come in and players can tweak a hamstring or another minor injury during practice.

There’s also a number of prop bets for the game. Some include Gladys Knight‘s national anthem. Will she omit a word or break the two-minute mark? Others range from who commits the first offsides to if there will be a successful two-point conversion. You can bet if LeBron James will miss more free-throw attempts that night than however many passes Chris Hogan catches. You can also bet if James Harden will score more points than both teams combined. And if you feel really lucky, Patriots fullback James Develin is listed at +40,000 odds to win Super Bowl MVP.

Article by Bill Piersa

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