Super Bowl LIII was considered a disappointment to the viewing audience. Apparently, the lackluster feeling carried over to the gambling side as well.
Nevada sportsbooks saw wagering on the New England Patriots’ 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams decline 8 percent from a year ago, despite lofty early projections. The Gaming Control Board said Monday $145.9 million was wagered on Sunday’s game in Atlanta with casinos collecting almost $10.8 million of the bets, a win percentage of 7.4 percent.
In New Jersey, the Division of Gaming Enforcement said sportsbooks operated by Atlantic City casinos and the state’s racetracks lost $4.6 million on $34.9 million in Super Bowl wagers. The wagering handle was far lower than many analysts expected for the first time the state legally took bets on the game.
A year ago, Nevada sportsbooks took in a record $158.6 million in Super Bowl wagers but won less than 1 percent of all bets when the Philadelphia Eagles upset New England, 41-33.
“I thought the enthusiasm for the game was less this year,” said William Hill US CEO Joe Asher. “The Rams just don’t have the passionate fan base the Eagles do and the Patriots fans have had plenty of chances to take in a Super Bowl in Vegas.”
The Super Bowl wagering decline was the first in Nevada since 2015.
“There are no alarm bells going off over here,” said Art Manteris, Station Casinos’ vice president of race and sports, whose company has casinos throughout the Las Vegas Valley. “Our facilities were jam-packed and there weren’t any dips in ticket counts. We look at the much larger picture.”
New England was anywhere from a to 2.5-to-3-point favorite by kick-off. The over-under for total points on the game ranged from 56 to 58. The game finishing well-under the projected points total favored Nevada sportsbooks.
“We did well on the proposition wagers and the under,” Manteris said. “The game itself wasn’t as dramatic.”
Asher said William Hill’s Nevada sportsbooks saw wagering action that “was basically the same as last year.” The company took three $1 million wagers a year ago, but only one on the Rams-Patriots game.
He said the company’s overall result in Nevada on the Super Bowl “was a modest win.” Last year’s upset win by the Eagles handed the sportsbook company a loss.
Boyd Gaming Corp., which has casinos in downtown Las Vegas and the suburban locals market, had a similar experience as William Hill. Company spokesman David Strow said betting amounts at Boyd sportsbooks were up due to mobile and in-gaming wagering, but the outcome took a bit of a hit on the Patriots winning.
The game finishing under, Strow said, mitigated the loss.
Outside Nevada
Super Bowl LIII marked the first times states outside of Nevada could legally accept wagers on the game. Following last May’s landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that ended a federal ban on sports wagering, seven states joined Nevada in legalizing and regulating sports betting.
Asher said the company’s sportsbook operations in Rhode Island and New Jersey saw “especially strong” wagering on all aspects involving New England.
“There are a lot of Patriots fans back there, so our pockets are a little light today,” Asher said.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming analyst Chris Grove said the amount wagered in New Jersey “was far lower” than expected. Because of the market’s newness, he expects New Jersey sportsbooks to see twice as much wagering on the 2020 Super Bowl.
Still, “Even with additional investment, it is difficult to see Atlantic City successfully replicating the aspirational destination appeal of Las Vegas for events like the Super Bowl,” Grove told investors.
In Mississippi, gaming regulators said fans bet around $4.67 million at non-tribal casinos.
Boyd operates the IP in Biloxi and Sam’s Town in Tunica. Strow said the sportsbooks at the two properties – taking wagers for the first time ever on the Super Bowl – attracted heavy customer traffic to the casinos. He said the company was happy with the results in Mississippi, which saw heavy wagering attention during the NFL season from fans of the New Orleans Saints.
“We know it would have been an even bigger draw if the Saints had been in the Super Bowl,” he said.
Associated Press contributed.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
