A press release dated February 2, 2021 by American Gaming Organization said that 23.2 million Americans were expected to bet on the Super Bowl. As it turned out, that number was much smaller than the one that really wagered.
According to the statement, the 23.2 million people from the United States of America were scheduled to spend over $4.3 billion. The match between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansa City Chiefs was perhaps the biggest event of the year.
The best thing about the 2021 Super Bowl LV is that a whopping $7.6 million was wagered online. That number shows how serious online betting is getting in the country. Besides, that figure was 63% up compared to the same period the year before.
Speaking during to the press, Bill Miller, the CEO and President of the American Gaming Association said, “This year, we expect the Super Bowl to bring in what will turn out to be the largest amount of money any single event has ever collected in American soil.”
The CEO added that the expected rise in revenue collection from a single event is orchestrated by how Americans have decided. The CEO said that in recent months, many Americans have shunned illegal bookies and have since shifted to participating in legal gambling.
It wasn’t hard for Americans to find legitimate sites to bet on. All the information on how to identify the real sites can be found on this Super Bowl page.
Conflicting Headlines
While AGA said that 23.2 million Americans were going to take part in the 2021 Super Bowl, other news outlets had a different figure. For instance, one local news website ran a headline that said in part, ‘Half of Americans to Bet On Super Bowl.” With that direction, it is evident that the number of people who were willing to wager on Sunday’s Super Bowl was huge.
Although this paper differed greatly on the number of those who could take part in the big sporting event, the survey did concur in one area. According to the survey, nearly a half of the Americans would use $4.3 billion on the single-day event.
The huge number that took part in the Super Bowl came out as a surprise. According to the AGA, they didn’t think Super Bowl would attract such a great number of people.
The fear of joblessness occasioned by Covid-19 was in itself a challenge. But it appeared that no matter the situation, what Americans wanted was a moment of excitement.
Although the number of those who wagered on the 2021 Super Bowl wasn’t that bad, it was slightly smaller than the number that wagered in the previous year. In the 2020 Super Bowl, more than 26 million Americans took part.
Betting On Family/Friends Circle
Unlike the past year, most bets in the 2021 Super Bowl were placed casually. According to one report on how bets were placed, most of them came from friends and families of those who gamble.
A small number of those who placed their bets on the Super Bowl did so via sportsbooks. It was not different with office pools and bookies.
Since the last super bowl, over 36 million more adults started betting. That means, if all these people would place their bets on the 2021 Super Bowl, the numbers would definitely sour. In addition, the difference between 2020 and 2021 is that in the latter, seven new betting jurisdictions were formed.
The seven gambling jurisdictions include Washington DC, Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois, Montana and Colorado.
When speaking of the drop in the number of those who took part in the Super Bowl wagering, a statement from AGA said it was because of the pandemic. During the 2020 Super Bowl, there were not many movement restrictions. However, the 2021 Super Bowl season fell at a time many states had reinstated movement restrictions.
Because of the restrictions that were put as a means to mitigate the spread of the virus, states saw an overall drop. Even though numbers were low on every wagering angle, some angles saw a sharp decline.
For instance, retail sportsbooks, squares, pools, and other casual bets recorded a sharp decline. Online casinos on the other hand saw an increase in the number of clients who took part in the 2021 Super Bowl.
Breakdown on How Americans Wagered on the 2021 Super Bowl
Morning Consult, a consultancy firm conducted a survey that looked into the sources of wagering on the Super Bowl. The firm found out that due to Covid-19 restrictions in many states across the USA, the number of those betting on pools declined.
Nonetheless, the firm released a report on how Americans spread their bets as shown below:
- 11.9 million placed their bets casually with families and friends. Although the number is high, that is an 18% drop compared to 2020.
- 4.5 million placed their bets via similar bet, squares, and pools. The number is 19% less than what was recorded in 2020.
- 1.8 million Americans placed their bets with bookies, what saw a decline of 21% from the previous year.
- 1.4 million people in the USA placed their bets via a sportsbook. The number attracted a decline of 61% compared to the previous year. This was so far the highest decline.
The same report observed that while the tag of war between the two teams looked almost hard to tell, Americans favored Chiefs. Yes, the report said 56% of American gamblers placed their bets in favor of the Chiefs while 44% planned to place their bets on Buccaneers.
Many Americans to Take Part in Coming Super Bowls
Now that the 2021 Super Bowl is over, Americans have begun to reenergize themselves for the 2022 Super Bowl. With the Covid-19 cases starting to rise globally again, nobody is sure how the situation will be like during the 2022 Super Bowl.
Hitherto, gambling is legal in Washington DC and 25 other US states. Additionally, 21 markets are deemed legal. Thirteen states have pending gambling legislation. Looking at some other numbers, it is evident that 2022 Super Bowl will also attract a big number of wagers.
