The Super Bowl LVII matchup is set, with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles squaring off on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. And a record number of people are expected to have skin in this year’s big game.
PlayUSA, a website that covers legalized gambling, is predicting that a record-breaking $1.1 billion could be legally wagered in the U.S. over this year’s Super Bowl, besting the $950 million wagered on last year’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams.
And if wagers placed at legal sportsbooks across the country do hit that $1.1 billion figure, it will not only make Super Bowl LVII the most bet-upon Super Bowl of all time, but it will also become the most bet-upon game among all sporting events in American history, as well.
There are a few factors driving this year-over-year increase in Super Bowl bets. The first is that sports betting has never been more popular in the U.S., and states are routinely setting new monthly records in total bets. And it certainly helps that sports betting has become more accessible as more states legalize online betting, with three more states legalizing sports betting last year. Now, 33 states and Washington, D.C. have at least some form of legal sports wagering, according to a tally from the American Gaming Association.
Read more: Massachusetts passes bill to legalize sports betting
So for first-time bettors or those unfamiliar with the intricacies of oddsmaking, here’s how to legally bet on this year’s Super Bowl:
See if sports betting is legal in your state
When the Supreme Court ended the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, it gave states individual legislative power to legalize sports betting.
Each state has its own set of rules. Some allow only in-person betting, while others also accept online and mobile wagers.
For example, sports betting is legal in Massachusetts, but only at some retail casinos. In New York, betting can be done in-person or through mobile devices. In Virginia, there is a bill that restricts bets on hometown college teams, and in Mississippi you can bet online, but only when inside a casino.
See also: Super Bowl LVII: When is it? Where is it? And how much are tickets?
Interested bettors can verify if sports betting is legal in their state here.
Find a legal betting operator in your state
If sports betting is legal in your state, then bettors can travel to an in-person retail casino where bets are permitted, or they can simply find an online casino, depending on the rules in their state.
Some of the biggest sports betting operators include DraftKings DKNG, +0.47%, Penn National’s Barstool Sports PENN, -3.67%, BetMGM MGM, -1.13%, Wynn WYNN, -0.02%, and the Flutter-owned-FanDuel FLTR, -2.41%.
In states where both in-person and online betting is available, online betting typically makes up a much larger piece of the betting pie. In New York and New Jersey, which are often among the states with the most money wagered on sports, about 90% of all bets are made online, according to public data.
See also: Have you noticed how much gambling talk there is on sports TV? How we got here
Additionally, living in the state is not a requirement. You just have to be at least 21 years old and be within the state when placing an online bet. Location is determined by GPS on the betting device.
Understand the odds
Some of the current odds for a player to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl are as follows:
Travis Kelce -130
Jalen Hurts -110
Miles Sanders -105
Kadarius Toney +235
Boston Scott +450
Skyy Moore +600
A minus sign or “-” symbol indicates a favorite, and a plus sign or “+” symbol indicates an underdog. For example, a $100 bet placed on a +600 choice would net a $600 profit, in addition to getting back the original $100. For favorites, it would take a $130 bet to win $100 on something with the odds of -130.
Another popular wager is betting on the point spread of the game, aka which team is favored to win, and by how much. As of Monday, the spread, also referred to as the line of the Super Bowl, is as follows:
Philadelphia Eagles (-1.5)
Kansas City Chiefs (+1.5)
The Eagles are 1.5 point favorites over the Chiefs and if a bettor wanted to bet on the Eagles, he/she would win the bet if the Chiefs won the game by more than 1.5 points, which would cover the spread. Conversely, a winning bet on Philadelphia would mean the Eagles could win the game or lose by less than 1.5 points.
There are dozens of other kinds of bets that can be viewed here.
Betting tips
There are a few things you can do to enhance your Super Bowl betting experience.
The first is to do some research. Read about the game, and see if you can spot a trend that nobody else can to gain an edge.
Second, bettors should monitor odds at several sportsbooks at once. If you did research and believe Patrick Mahomes is going to win the MVP, for example, and you are willing to bet money on it, then check a few different sportsbooks for Mahomes’s odds. If FanDuel has more favorable odds for Mahomes to win MVP than DraftKings, bet there instead.
Third, and perhaps most important: only bet what you are willing to lose.
From the archives: ‘I thought they were scamming me’: Kansas City Chiefs superfan gets the surprise of a lifetime
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