The American Gaming Association is predicting that a record number of Americans will be betting on this year’s Super Bowl. Tuesday, the gambling industry’s national trade group estimated a whopping 31.5 million Americans will be partaking.
It’s expected that over $7.6 billion will be wagered for Sunday’s game. Included in those who are making bets is everyone from people “making casual wagers with friends or r3elatives, entries into office pools, wagers with licensed sportsbooks, and bets placed with illegal bookmakers” reports the Associated Press.
The group’s president and CEO Bill Miller said “Americans have never been more interested in legal sports wagering…the growth of legal options across the country not only protects fans and the integrity of games and bets, but also puts illegal operators on notice that their time is limited.”
Gambling is not legal everywhere. Only 30 states and Washington, D.C. will offer legal gambling to be available for Sunday. This year shows a significant increase in gambling because “since last year’s game, 45 million additional people will be able to bet on the Super Bowl because their states have legalized sports betting over the past year: Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming” reports the Associated Press.
The association predicted that:
— 18.2 million American adults will place traditional sports wagers online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie, up 78% from 2021.
— 18.5 million plan to bet casually with friends or as part of a pool or squares contest, up 23%. The association said there is some overlap among those two groups.
— 76% say it is important for themselves to bet through a legal operator, up 11% from last year.
— 55% plan to bet on the Rams, with 45% backing the Bengals. That contradicts data from numerous individual legal sportsbooks that shows more bets and total money being wagered on Cincinnati thus far.
Public Health advocate and recovering gambling addict Harry Levant works to Stop Predatory Gambling. He compares the incentives used to coerce people to make bets are similar to those of the tobacco industry in order to get people to smoke.
“One out of two people struggling with a gambling problem contemplates suicide, and one out of five will attempt suicide,” he said. “I am one of those one out of five.”
Levant said the rapid rise of in-game betting feeds into a compulsive gambler’s desire for more and faster opportunities to bet.
“No longer is gambling limited to who’s going to win the game,” he said. “Now gambling is on every play. Keep them gambling, keep chasing action.”
The national helpline for people with a gambling problem, or who think they might have one is: 1-800-GAMBLER.