The Super Bowl of gambling is upon us

Here in Phoenix, site of Super Bowl LVII, it seemed like every other person in downtown Monday night was wearing a football jersey. My Uber driver said he expects the city to be as crowded as it’s ever been.

It’s par for the course for any host of the Super Bowl, and Phoenix expects an economic impact of $1B over the next few days.

Yet that sum pales in comparison to what has become the biggest spend associated with the Super Bowl: gambling.

The American Gaming Association…

… predicts 50.4m people, ~20% of American adults, will bet $16B on the big game.

That estimate includes legal and illegal gambling.

• Despite sports betting being legal in 36 states, illicit bets are more common. In 2022, legal sportsbooks accounted for ~$950m of ~$7.6B in Super Bowl bets.

Arizona will likely see a huge portion of the bets

It’s the first state with legal sports betting to host a Super Bowl. Phoenix features FanDuel and Caesars Sportsbook downtown, and a BetMGM sportsbook near the football stadium in suburban Glendale.

One gambling expert told the Arizona Republic $700m-$1B could be wagered in Arizona alone.

A fun prop bet: You can bet on which song halftime performer Rihanna will play first. “Don’t Stop the Music” is the Vegas favorite, but we’re leaning toward “Only Girl (In the World)” as a quality underdog selection.