Bookmakers from Nevada once again beat the players in the Super Bowl.
State bookmakers won $11.3 million of the $153.2 million wagered on Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The stakes are down about 14.8% from last year’s Super Bowl, which attracted a record $179.2 million in stakes. The bookmaker’s $11.3 million in winnings is also less than last year’s game, but the hold percentage – the net percentage of wins and losses – was in the same range as in previous years.
Nevada bookmakers have taken the lead in 14 consecutive Super Bowls and have only made two net losses in the NFL title game since state control of the game began tracking action in 1991. England Patriots in 2008 and about $397,000 for crushing the San Francisco 49ers against the San Diego Chargers in 1995.
The bookmakers said that the number of bets on this year’s Super Bowl was comparable to last season, but there were fewer massive bets that often appear on a big game. Last year bookies reported seven Super Bowl bets worth $1 million or more. There have only been five $1 million bets this year, with the largest $2.2 million bet on the Eagles -1.5 coming from New York at Caesars Sportsbook.
GeoComply, a technology provider for online bookmakers, said it tracked 100 million geolocation checks between players and bookies on Saturday and Sunday, up 25% from last year’s Super Bowl weekend. The company said it conducted 100,000 geolocation checks at and around State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which was the first Super Bowl venue to have a retail betting shop installed on its property.
The Chiefs, who closed as small underdogs, rebounded from a 10-point halftime deficit from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and used a late field goal to finish the Eagles in a 38–35 win. The majority of bettors supported Philadelphia, leading to what bookmakers across the country described as a “moderate” win.
“We did a good job with the game,” said SuperBook CEO John Murray. “The props were bad [for the house]but I expected the worst with 73 points.”
The bettors did well in the game with a total of 51.5 points as well as many of the bettor side bets offered by bookmakers. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelsey was strongly supported by the players who scored a touchdown. More money has been wagered on Kelsey than on any other player at several bookmakers.
“Mahomes was a really big winner for the public in the MVP market and he overcame passing touchdowns. [2.5]”Having Kelsey come into the receiving court and score a touchdown was also a big deal for the crowd,” said Craig Macklow, vice president of sales at Caesars Sportsbook.
Macklow added that hitting heads on the coin toss produced a “massive win” for bettors despite betting $51,000 on tails. All three of the largest coin toss bets came up heads.
“The public has always had tails,” Macklow said. “The coin toss cost us double because the public thought Kansas City was also winning the coin toss. As they say, tails never fails.
Players at DraftKings have benefited from what is known as the “octopus prop”, which asks if a player will score a touchdown and subsequent 2-point conversion at odds of 14-1. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts performed the feat in the second half.
“Overall we had a great day,” said Johnny Avello, director of betting at bookmaker DraftKings. “The octopus wrapped its tentacles around us.”
In-play betting was also popular during the Super Bowl. SimpleBet, which provides in-game micro-event betting, said $1 million was wagered with its bookmaker partners on the outcome of the Chiefs’ final roll, which ended with Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal with eight seconds left.
By Monday, the players had already turned their attention to next year’s Super Bowl. In the first 12 hours after Sunday’s game at PointsBet, the Chicago Bears saw the most bets to win next year’s Super Bowl, including a pair of $1,000 bets 80-1. Super Bowl LVIII will take place on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.
Source: www.espn.com
