Legal Online Super Bowl Betting
For many years, real money Super Bowl betting was confined to sportsbooks or it was done illegally, even as the game’s popularity continued to grow. Now, with the prevalence of Super Bowl betting online via.
- Yes, it is legal to bet on the Super Bowl, NFL playoff odds, and the Pro Bowl as long as you place your wagers at an authorized state-regulated sportsbook or at a legitimate offshore betting site.
- Betting activity on the Super Bowl is through the roof, and it will only continue to grow in the coming years as additional states legalize online sports betting. It’s not too hard to see why. Setting up an account.
Online sports betting data from GeoComply shows more than triple the action on Super Bowl weekend compared to last year.
Online transactions topped 32 million over Saturday and Sunday, up 236% from 9.5 million in 2020. That figure includes all legal online sports betting markets, of which there were an additional seven this year:
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Montana (on-site mobile only)
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington DC
| State | 2021 Super Bowl | 2020 Super Bowl | 2021 Conference Championship | % change vs. 2020 Super Bowl | % change vs. 2021 Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All states Saturday | 12,008,748 | 3,866,304 | 11,613,938 | 211% | 3% |
| All states Sunday | 20,024,989 | 5,655,589 | 18,502,941 | 254% | 8% |
| All states total | 32,033,737 | 9,521,893 | 30,116,879 | 236% | 6% |
Further breaking down the data shows growth in three of the top US sports betting jurisdictions and a surprising leader for most online transactions: Pennsylvania.
Note that this data likely would have been higher without reported outages from multiple sportsbooks across multiple states before and during the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl betting data by jurisdiction
The GeoComply data only tracked three states specifically, for the purpose of an apples-to-apples comparison: Indiana,New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The NJ sports betting market is the only one that’s had mobile sports betting for three Super Bowls. Pennsylvania launched mobile in mid-2019 while sports betting in Indianalaunched that October, making this their second Super Bowl each.
NJ easily led both in transactions last year, but slipped to second-best this year:
| State | 2021 Super Bowl | 2020 Super Bowl | 2021 Conference Championship | % change vs. 2020 Super Bowl | % change vs. 2021 Conference Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ Saturday | 2,396,677 | 1,694,341 | 2,324,031 | 41% | 3% |
| NJ Sunday | 3,912,685 | 2,547,575 | 3,623,073 | 54% | 8% |
| NJ Total | 6,309,362 | 4,241,916 | 5,947,104 | 49% | 6% |
| PA Saturday | 2,403,989 | 1,209,992 | 2,309,990 | 99% | 4% |
| PA Sunday | 3,992,490 | 1,730,605 | 3,659,509 | 131% | 9% |
| PA Total | 6,396,479 | 2,940,597 | 5,969,499 | 118% | 7% |
| IN Saturday | 781,409 | 567,073 | 760,320 | 38% | 3% |
| IN Sunday | 1,386,561 | 750,152 | 1,322,168 | 85% | 5% |
| IN Total | 2,167,970 | 1,317,225 | 2,082,488 | 65% | 4% |
| Saturday Total | 5,582,075 | 3,471,406 | 5,394,341 | 61% | 3% |
| Sunday Total | 9,291,736 | 5,028,332 | 8,604,750 | 85% | 8% |
| Weekend Total | 14,873,811 | 8,499,738 | 13,999,091 | 75% | 6% |
Activity from ‘other’ legal states skyrockets
While the above table shows growth in some of the most active mature states, the next dataset shows just how explosive US sports betting growth is elsewhere:
| State | 2021 Super Bowl | 2020 Super Bowl | 2021 Conference Championship | % change vs. 2020 Super Bowl | % change vs. 2021 Conference Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Others Saturday | 6,426,673 | 394,898 | 6,219,597 | 1527% | 3% |
| All Others Sunday | 10,733,253 | 627,257 | 9,898,191 | 1611% | 8% |
| All Others Total | 17,159,926 | 1,022,155 | 16,117,788 | 1579% | 6% |
Along with those new markets noted above, the “all other states” segment included six that accepted online bets in 2020:
- Iowa
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- West Virginia
How much was bet on Super Bowl 55?
The biggest question everyone wants to know now is just how much was legally bet on Super Bowl LV. PlayUSA forecasts $500 million in legal Super Bowl bets, up from about $300 million last year.
While some states will issue releases this week, we won’t have a true total until potentially late April.
Blame that delay in part on the Illinois sports betting market. The state doesn’t require sportsbooks to report their results until the end of the following month. That means those sportsbooks don’t have to let regulators know what the February totals were until the end of March.
Illinois could surprise everyone with a special release, of course. That would put the pressure on Indiana, which didn’t report Super Bowl totals until its full February report was published in mid-March.
As we close in on Super Bowl LV, wagering on the big game is the dominant conversation when it comes to the betting industry in the United States. The primary question for US residents, though, is whether or not they live in a place where it’s legal to wager on the game.
Legal sportsbooks of some kind, retail and/or mobile, are currently operating in 20 states (plus Washington, D.C.), and 15 of those states offer statewide online wagering – meaning residents of bordering states without legal options can travel to them to make their bets. Thus, the majority of the US population now has some access to legal betting channels – even if some aren’t the most convenient.
For these purposes, we’ll break down the 50 states into five groups. The groups will divide by how accessible sportsbooks are currently. We’ll start off with the places where you’re just a few taps on your mobile device away from being able to bet on the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Bucs.
Where legal Super Bowl betting is super easy
In this class of jurisdictions, you can find both online and retail sportsbooks. Most of the brick-and-mortar books are at casinos, off-track betting sites, racinos, and sports stadiums. While there are some differences from one place to another in terms of how online betting coincides with doing the same in-person, you can do either in all of these places:
There are a few caveats that bettors should be aware of in this list. In Mississippi and Montana, online wagering is only allowable while you’re on casino grounds. In Nevada, you have to visit the retail component of an online sportsbook to register your account before you can place bets online.
Tennessee and Virginia in a class by themselves
In Virginia and Tennessee, the only legal choice is to place wagers online. There are no casinos or racetracks in TN. In VA, there are currently no casinos, although multiple cities approved casino gaming last year. When those facilities open, they will have retail sportsbooks inside of them. For now, online books are the only option.
States with retail sportsbooks only
If you’re in Arkansas, Delaware, New Mexico, or New York, your only options are to visit either commercial or tribal casinos. Online sports betting remains illegal in three of those four states.
While there is some ongoing activity to change that in New York, that isn’t the case in Arkansas and New Mexico. Even in the Empire State, the status quo will remain at least through Super Bowl Sunday 2021. Thus, New Yorkers’ options are to either travel to upstate casinos or cross the borders into either New Jersey or Pennsylvania.
In Delaware, online sports betting is legal but there are no online operators currently accepting wagers. Right now, there is also no movement towards launching any mobile books.
So close, yet so far away
In six states, recent changes to the law have allowed for the legalization of sports betting in some way. All six have some unique circumstances, so it’s best to break them down individually.
- Louisiana – Last November, voters in almost all of the state’s 64 parishes went to the ballot box and approved sports betting within the borders of those divisions. However, the state still has to draw up regulations for sportsbooks, license operators, and then roll out the product. That won’t happen before Feb. 7.
- Maryland – Similar to Louisiana, Maryland voters approved sports wagering with their ballots last year but did so statewide. Also just like Louisiana, the state has yet to implement its controls for the activity. Maybe in time for Super Bowl LVI in 2022, MD sportsbooks will be up and running.
- North Carolina – It’s been months since the state legislature approved a change to gaming compacts with tribal casino operators to allow them to run sportsbooks. However, none of the NC casinos have yet to actually start taking bets, and when that might begin still lacks a firm date.
- North Dakota – Tribal casinos in the state have the green light to start taking bets anytime they’re ready to do so. When that will happen remains a mystery.
- South Dakota – Add this to the list of states where voters said yes to sports betting last year. Right now, it looks like legal wagering will be confined to Deadwood casinos. There’s still a lot of work for the SD legislature to get done on this.
- Washington – Like in NC and ND, tribal casino operators already have clearance to offer sports betting. Just like in those states, they haven’t yet opened their sportsbooks. This state bears watching because recent legislation might open the market up to online wagering as well.
There’s another group of states working to get on the same level as those in this group. It isn’t a foregone conclusion in any of them, however. In fact, in some of them, the efforts seem doomed from the start.
Legislative pushes currently ongoing
One state where legalization seems likely this year is Connecticut. It looks like all the stakeholders and legislative partners are on board with the general idea and it’s just a matter of working out the details. Other places where there are legislative initiatives toward the same end, with varying degrees of probable success this year, are:
Our final group is the rest of the country, where residents shouldn’t expect to see legal sportsbooks anytime in the near future. Not only are they illegal, but there is currently no real momentum to change that situation.
Where sports betting is a pipe dream right now
Super Bowl Betting Online
In all of these states, you have a better shot at winning a lottery jackpot than you do of placing a bet at a legal sportsbook anytime in the next couple of years.
Super Bowl Betting Lines
This is a comprehensive look at where Super Bowl betting is legal before the big game in 2021. Hopefully, by the time two NFL teams meet up to decide Super Bowl LVI, some of the states will move up these lists.
State-by-state list
Legal Online Super Bowl Betting
Here is a state-by-state list of where things currently stand when it comes to whether or not you can legally bet on sports.
Is It Illegal To Bet On The Super Bowl
| State | Online | Retail |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | No |
| Alaska | No | No |
| Arizona | No | No |
| Arkansas | No | Yes |
| California | No | No |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes |
| Connecticut | No | No |
| Delaware | No | Yes |
| Florida | No | No |
| Georgia | No | No |
| Hawaii | No | No |
| Idaho | No | No |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | Yes | Yes |
| Kansas | No | No |
| Kentucky | No | No |
| Louisiana | No | No |
| Maine | No | No |
| Maryland | No | No |
| Massachusetts | No | No |
| Michigan | Yes | Yes |
| Minnesota | No | No |
| Mississippi | Yes | Yes |
| Missouri | No | No |
| Montana | Yes | Yes |
| Nebraska | No | No |
| Nevada | Yes | Yes |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Yes |
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes |
| New Mexico | No | Yes |
| New York | No | Yes |
| North Carolina | No | No |
| North Dakota | No | No |
| Ohio | No | No |
| Oklahoma | No | No |
| Oregon | Yes | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes |
| South Carolina | No | No |
| South Dakota | No | No |
| Tennessee | Yes | No |
| Texas | No | No |
| Utah | No | No |
| Vermont | No | No |
| Virginia | Yes | No |
| Washington | No | No |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes |
| Wisconsin | No | No |
| Wyoming | No | No |