New Jersey, Pennsylvania Report Super Bowl Weekend Wagering Surge
This week, the gaming commissions for New Jersey and Philadelphia confirmed what we already knew: Super Bowl LVIII was popular to bet on.
On Monday, a GeoComply study revealed record activity across the best sports betting sites for Sunday's game, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs score a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
GeoComply figures revealed a 22.3% year-over-year increase in geolocation checks for the Big Game, while the 8.5 million active user accounts ahead of the contest marked a 15% increase from last year. Incredibly, a record-setting 14.75 thousand transactions per second were recorded in the minutes prior to kickoff.
Earlier this week, Nevada sports betting revealed a $185.6 million handle for Super Bowl weekend, a record for the state. New Jersey sports betting and Pennsylvania sports betting seem to be following suit.
New Jersey draws nearly $150 million in Super Bowl bets
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported on Wednesday that $141.6 million was wagered on the Super Bowl in the Garden State.
That represents a 30% year-over-year increase in legal sports betting activity on the NFL championship game compared to the $109.3 million taken in by New Jersey sports betting apps for the 2023 Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, $133.1 million in payouts for lucky bettors were identified in the Super Bowl report. The result was a roughly $8.5 million win for sportsbooks, even with countless New Jersey sportsbook promos ahead of the Big Game.
Pennsylvania records more activity than Super Bowl LVII
Similarly, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported an increase in betting interest for this year's Super Bowl. According to a press release, more than $71.5 million was bet on Super Bowl LVIII - even more than we saw in last year's Super Bowl, which featured the hometown Philadelphia Eagles against the underdog Chiefs.
Wagering activity likely would have been off the charts if the Eagles had reached their potential and made it to this year's Super Bowl, too. Even so, this year's total handle still marked a 15% year-over-year increase for Pennsylvania sports betting apps and the state's retail providers from last year's championship.
Revenues are expected to be just over $11 million, which is the second-highest mark in four years for Pennsylvania's best sports betting apps. Revenues from last year's game came in at a record $29.7 million, aided by the Eagles' loss and the influx of new customers drawn by Pennsylvania sportsbook promos.
There were 875,000 online betting accounts in Pennsylvania according to GeoComply, up from 793,000 during last year's game. There were more than 13.6 million geolocation checks during the weekend according to GeoComply's figures.
High numbers expected to keep rolling in from Super Bowl LVIII
Big betting numbers for Super Bowl LVIII are expected to keep coming in after last weekend's game, which drew the highest TV numbers of all time.
Along with GeoComply's figure of a 22.3% year-over-year increase in Super Bowl betting across the country, micro-betting technology company SimpleBet also reported record activity for Sunday's contest: one million bets and a $17 million handle for the game.
With Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Super Bowl betting reports leading the way, expect more success stories for the U.S. legal sports betting scene to come.