Super Bowl Madness: Super Betting Totals for America’s Premier Spectacle
Published February 4, 2017 by Lee R
The spotlight on betting totals has drawn increased lobbying from the AGA.
Betting may not be legal at the federal level, but this does not mean Americans are any less enthusiastic about sports betting than counterparts in legalized regions.
Betting in America
Americans are potentially the most rabid sports bettors in the world, as evinced by the frenzy of punting for the country’s biggest sports spectacle. Yes, it’s Super Bowl time, and there may be nothing more super than the level of betting in a country where sports betting has been federally banned since 1992.
Record Highs
To wit, American Gaming Association AGA figures place the betting levels for Super Bowl 51 across America at an estimated $4.7 billion for the American Football’s championship match pitting the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons.
The figure represents an 11 percent jump from last year’s Super Bowl, with 97 percent of the bets to be placed illegally, to the tune of $4.5 billion.
Legal Betting
As far as the legal bets, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA, indicates that Nevada is the only state allowed to offer legal sports betting, with an estimated $132 million in wagers to be processed through sports books by kickoff.
Total 2016 Betting
However, football is not the only event that people are betting on. Last year, Americans wagered an estimated $154 billion on all sports, managing to work on land around the bans through local bookies while finding no shortage of offshore, illicit web sites.
AGA Chimes In
AGA president Geoff Freeman is rapidly becoming the poster child for change, championing the lifting of the federal ban with the following Super Bowl season statement:
“As we mark the 25th anniversary of a failed law, it’s time for Washington to get out of the way and lift the federal prohibition that pushes sports fans to a rapidly growing illegal betting market.”
Benefits Await
Freeman extols the potential benefits of regulation which are out there to be had by legalized sports betting, including generation of tax revenues and jobs which he is confident can effectively integrate “protection of customers” through “leveraging cutting-edge technology to strengthen the integrity of the games we all love.”
Outlook
While legalised betting may still be a ways off, enthusiasm for sports betting in the US remains uncurbable and incurable.
