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Super Bowl By The Numbers: Big Betting, Record Ratings

Sports Betting Operators Report Record Revenue After Philadelphia Win

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The Philadelphia Eagles were big winners in Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl, and so were the nation’s sportsbooks. The American Gaming Association (AGA) predicted a record $1.39 billion wagered in the days leading up to the game and that forecast appears to have come true.

The Kansas City Chiefs were about a 1-point favorite and proved to be popular with bettors, as were prop bets on Saquon Barkley and Travis Kelce, both of whom had poorer performances than expected. Seeing Philadelphia come out on top 40-22, however, erased any risk for books and put plenty of winnings in operators’ coffers.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported a $22.1 million in net winnings on the game, a record in the state. The win came despite a 20 percent decrease in handle from last year, when the big game took place in Las Vegas and saw $190 million wagered.

The sportsbook profits were even bigger in New York, where the state gaming commission reported a handle of $154.9 million. That was down slightly from the year before, but the Eagles win meant a $47.4 million win for the sportsbooks, which was five times higher than 2024.

New Jersey also cashed in, boasting a handle of $168.7 million that resulted in a net win of $25.2 million.

“Super Bowl LIX was the single-biggest betting event in the history of BetMGM — it took the most bets, and was one of the best single-game results in company history,” BetMGM senior trading manager Christian Cipollini said in a press release.

But while sportsbooks cashed in pretty much everywhere, that wasn’t the case in Pennsylvania, where bettors parked most of their action on the hometown Eagles.

The state took in a record $101.5 million overall, an increase of 20.4% over the previous record. However, with nearly 80% of the money on Philadelphia, the sportsbooks had to eat a loss of $6.5 million.

The reverse was true in Kansas, where a sportsbook reported 81% of the bets on the Chiefs.

Big Bets

DraftKings also reported fielding more than 12 million bets on the game among the platform’s 2.5 million active customers. Among big bettors, DraftKings made note of an $800,000 moneyline wager on the Eagles along, with another $750,000 Philly moneyline bet. One bettor posted a Chiefs moneyline wager for $320,000.

High-stakes bettor Marco Piemonte cashed in after making a $1 million wager on the Eagles at +1.5 at the Fanatics sportsbook. Covers.com also reported that a Kentucky bettor made several moneyline wagers with Circa Sports on the Eagles totaling $3.1 million at -700 for a payout of $442,000.

U.S. Online Betting Surges

American bettors continue flocking to legalized sports betting options and that continued for this year’s Super Bowl. Online betting geolocation and security firm GeoComply reported a 14% increase in active player accounts across its online sportsbook customers during Super Bowl weekend compared to last year.

In states where regulators have taken action against offshore sportsbooks, GeoComply found the growth rate of active accounts among its sportsbook customers was twice as high on average as in states that haven’t taken similar enforcement measures. Since the last Super Bowl, 14 states have issued cease and desist orders to at least one prominent illegal sportsbook.

“When states take enforcement action, we see a correlation with increased engagement on our customers’ platforms,” GeoComply CEO and co-founder Anna Sainsbury said. “More fans are choosing legal sportsbooks, driven by stronger consumer protections and enhanced user experiences. This means even greater tax revenues to support local communities and promote responsible growth while reducing reliance on illegal sportsbooks.”.

The company also reported several other key findings. Over Super Bowl weekend, GeoComply observed the creation of more than 724,400 new online wagering accounts across its customers in regulated states. Just before halftime and right after the Eagles scored the team’s third touchdown of the game, the company recorded a peak of 14,300 geolocation transactions per second (TPS).

Major TV Numbers

The big game continues to give a boost to the league’s broadcast partners. Fox reportedly sold $800 million in commercials this year with a 30-second ad spot running $8 million. And despite the blowout Philadelphia win, the game drew a record 127.7 million television viewers.

The game was shown on the Fox broadcast channel along with Fox Deportes and NBC Universal’s Telemundo. The Fox-owned Tubi streaming service also showed the game.

*Photos by Shutterstock and @Eagles on Twitter/X