According to a survey conducted by the American Gaming Association (AGA), a staggering 68 million adults in the US are planning to wager on this year’s Super Bowl championship, which will be held in Las Vegas. This marks a notable increase of 18 million compared to last year’s findings. As for how much they will spend in total, estimates point to a figure of $23.1 billion, which is in stark contrast to the $16 billion estimated back in 2023.
Over half of bettors are thinking of placing bets at land-based or online sportsbooks (42.7 million). In contrast, around 36% will partake in casual betting alongside friends, while 24% are planning on participating in pool or squares competitions. As for which teams punters will wager on, 47% are counting on the Kansas City Chiefs being this year’s winner. Almost just as many survey participants (44%) expressed their intention to wager that the San Francisco 49ers will emerge victorious.
Although the total figures outlined above account for both legal and illegal wagering, the association did also ask survey participants regarding whether they are planning on wagering online at official, legal sportsbooks. The results are promising: AGA found that 28.7 million US adults (11%) intend to pay a visit to a licensed remote sportsbook in order to place bets. This can be attributed to the continued improvement of the legal sports betting landscape across the US.
Responsible Gaming and the Super Bowl
At the time of writing, the majority of America’s states have legalized sports betting, with a notable example being Florida. The Sunshine State launched its regulated sports betting market in 2023, and wagering on sports games is now available courtesy of the Seminole Tribe. This also means that Florida bettors have access to the services of Hard Rock’s bespoke PlayersEdge responsible gambling service, which serves to educate players on gambling harm and assist them in finding help when necessary.
As is the case in Florida, legalized sports betting generally presents ample opportunity for bettors across the US to wager in safe and regulated environments, which plays a crucial role in mitigating and, when possible, preventing gambling harm. As found by the AGA, 75% of adults who plan on betting on the Super Bowl have encountered responsible gambling messaging in visual form sometime in the past year. What is more, nearly half (47%) of all adults in the US have come across either audio or visual messages regarding responsible gambling sometime in 2023.
Bill Miller, President and CEO of the AGA, commented that the record interest in wagering for the 2024 Super Bowl season “marks a full circle moment for the US gaming industry.” He also stressed on how the AGA will continue to put player’s safety first via consumer protections, as well as invest in “responsible gambling tools, safeguards and education.”
