The emergence of prediction markets, proliferation of sports betting around the country, reduced Las Vegas visitation, and lack of star power may have contributed to Nevada recording its lowest Super Bowl handle in 10 years.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board released totals Monday night that showed $133.8 million was wagered in Nevada’s 186 sportsbooks on the Super Bowl, in which when Seattle beat New England 29-13. That’s down from $151.6 million a year ago when Philadelphia beat Kansas City. The next lowest handle over the last 10 years was in 2021, $136 million wagered when Tampa beat Kansas City.
Unaudited figures showed that Nevada sportsbooks won $9.8 million on wagers, a hold percentage of 7.4%, down from 14.6% a year ago. The lowest in the last decade was in 2018, a 0.7% hold when Philadelphia beat New England.
Jeffrey Benson, director of operations for Circa Sports, cited “prediction markets, exchanges, and the continued legalization of sports betting” as the reason handle was down.
Joe Asher, CEO of Boomer’s Sportsbook, said multiple reasons for the lower handle this year include the impact of prediction markets and fewer visitors in town for the Super Bowl than unusual. Visitation was down 7.5% in 2025.
“Number one, there was a lack of enthusiasm about the matchup of the game,” Asher said. “I think many people felt the real Super Bowl was the NFC Championship between Seattle and the (Los Angeles) Rams. It was two defensive-minded teams and you didn’t have that star marquee quarterback like the last two (Super Bowls) and the year, before the game was in Vegas. That year’s betting was artificially high.”
The line opened with Seattle as the 4.5-point favorite and stayed there, even with New England money coming in late, including large bets on the Patriots.
“The town was a little soft as well and that’s reflective of the matchup,” Asher said. “Room rates were generally down. Perhaps you had Seattle fans who went to Santa Clara rather than come to Vegas, given the geographic proximity. That played some role. You didn’t see a huge contingent of New England fans, although it was their first time back in a while.”
The big question is how much the prediction market operators, who aren’t supposed to be taking bets in Nevada but are, had a role in the lower handle, Asher said.
“I did see Kalshi had a big marquee in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip imploring people to bet on the game and totally thumbing their nose at (an order to stop from federal judge) and the Nevada Gaming Control Board,” Asher said. “The question no one can answer is how much betting that would otherwise go to the legal market went there.”
On Feb. 2, Nevada regulators filed a motion in federal court to stop Coinbase from offering its prediction market products in the state, asserting that the platform is operating unlicensed gambling services.
Federal judge Kristin Luis granted a temporary (14-day) restraining order late last week ahead of the Super Bowl and set a hearing date of Feb. 17. Nevada received a similar order against Polymarket in January with a hearing set for Feb. 19.
In November, Kalshi was stopped by federal judge Andrew Gordon from offering sports betting contracts in Nevada, overturning a previous order.
As for the betting itself, Asher said the hold was lower this year because the public favored Seattle, even though the sharp money on New England at the end with reports of $1 million-plus bets. The public has a greater impact on the Super Bowl, he said.
A lot of money was also won betting the under at 45.5-46 points, given there were two defensive teams. Seattle’s Kenneth Walker’s winning the MVP was generally a good result for the books, Asher said.
