Liberalization Brings 2020 Super Bowl Betting Bonanza

So, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the San Francisco 49ers in Miami for Super Bowl LIV. It was the usual cavalcade of sports, adverts and pop music. However, behind the scenes of this annual mainstay of US culture, a quiet revolution bore fruit. 2020 Super Bowl betting saw online sportsbook sites in the US like Bovada do a roaring trade. The number and value of bets broke records. It’s no exaggeration to say that at Super Bowl LIV, sports betting in the US came of age.

When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned it was the first really big televised event. Looking back, it marked the point television became a cultural cornerstone. Super Bowl LIV will go down as having done the same for US gaming. Brought out of the shadows by New Jersey’s long fight, US sports betting truly arrived. The lifting of restrictions was a watershed. American sports fans took full advantage. Super bowl betting raked in around $7 billion this year.

That’s right. $7 billion. So, the US gambling laws only changed last May and now it’s turning over $7 billion on a single game. Admittedly, it’s a big game, but still. That’s some entrance. With the stranglehold on sports gambling in the US broken, some 26 million Americans did some Super Bowl betting. Some of these bets were perfectly sensible sporting risks. Those that you or I might take. But some of them were the sort of bizarre novelty wager only fit for the insane.

2020 Super Bowl Betting Beckons Future

Perhaps it’s the sudden freedom. Liberty can intoxicate. Maybe that explains some of the Super Bowl betting opportunities on offer. Wagers on J-lo and Shakira twerking? A bet on the length of the National Anthem? Risking money on how many tweets Donald Trump will send during the game? Apparently, given the legal opportunity, many Americans will gamble like a lifer on F Block. There were lots of real wagers. So there really wasn’t any excuse for this madness. 

Super Bowl LIV Result

• Kansas City Chiefs – 31
• San Francisco 49ers – 20

Those who like to bet on sports in the US could have selected from over 400 separate game-related wagers. From yardage rushed, received or passed, to the number of punts or the total points scored, there was no end of choice. So there was no need to resort to wagers on whether or not a player will get arrested in Miami post-game. Super Bowl betting in 2020, however, demonstrates the market is there well beyond sports fans. Normal people like gambling too.

Sports & Novelty Wagers Will Share Market

Sure, they’re not going to be regular gamblers, but for big events? They’ll be there in force. That means online betting sites in the US like Bovada have to cater to them. Wishing to gamble without any real knowledge means they’ll always be more comfortable in the novelty end of the pool. This may appear somewhat wasteful to the traditionalists, but legalization is for all, not the few. Super Bowl betting this year is going to have massive knock-on effects on the US market.

These flutter fans will be a significant force not only in terms of the wagers on offer but how they’re offered. The facility to bet on sports may have arrived with gaming fans, but its accessibility will be driven by those who wager but infrequently. Capturing their mercurial attentions will be key. So US sports odds and Prop bets on sports in the US will have to adapt their presentation to suit these people. 2020 Super Bowl betting breaking records is just the kickoff. 

2020 Super Bowl Betting

• No. Players – 26 million (est)
• No. Wagers Available – 400+
• Value Of Wagers Placed – $7bn (est)

We take a look at how the 2020 Super Bowl betting heralds the start of a new era of sports betting in the US. Read more about this paradigm shift in US gambling.

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