When sports gambling became legal in Arizona in September, fans quickly took advantage of the opportunities in the state, including visiting the FanDuel facility at Footprint Center. \Photo by Wesley Johnson/Cronkite News
By Gabe Swartz | Cronkite News
Shortly after the final seconds ticked off the clock at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to wrap up the NFL’s conference championship weekend, wagering on the Super Bowl LVI matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals opened across the country.
And this year, the nearly endless opportunities for wagering on the big game now are available for the first time – at least legally – to Arizona gamblers thanks to legislation legalizing sports wagering in the state, which became law in September.
The Rams are a 4.5-point favorite on most sports gambling platforms, and the over-under (predicted combined score) for the game is 48.5 points. However, depending on the platform, bettors can also choose from proposition – or “prop” – bets that range from the time it will take country music star Mickey Guyton to sing the national anthem to the color of the sports drink that will be dumped on the winning coach’s head.
There also are a slew of game-specific props, including how many yards Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will throw for, or how many touchdown passes Rams star Cooper Kupp will grab.
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Considering Arizona’s quick growth in sports betting, it could be a historic Super Bowl for sports bookmaking operations, one expert said. PlayUSA, a media service that provides updates and analysis on the sports gambling landscape across the nation, projects that as much as $1 billion in bets could be placed on the game.
“The market as a whole has grown really tremendously throughout 2021,” said Eric Ramsey, market analyst lead for PlayUSA.
A year ago, PlayUSA estimated that Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers garnered over $500 million in legal wagers. Since then, nine states have legalized some form of sports gambling, bolstering this year’s projections – even in Nevada.
“That’s part of what led me to project growth in Nevada for this Super Bowl,” Ramsey said of the overall growth.
Although Las Vegas’ hold on the market helps Nevada lead the way in projected handle, Arizona is quickly becoming a player. In less than a year, Arizona has already made its presence known in the gambling landscape with one of the largest projected shares for its first Super Bowl with legal wagering.
PlayUSA’s projections rank Arizona sixth in projected wagers among the 30 states with some form of legal sports betting, trailing only Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania. And based on previous monthly handle, BetArizona.com estimated that $80 million to $120 million in bets could be placed on the Super Bowl in the state.
“I think people in Arizona got their feet wet. They dipped their toes in at the beginning of the season,” said C.J. Pierre, lead writer for PlayAZ.com.
Pierre said new bettors taking their first swing at the gambling piñata should keep in mind that wagering on sporting events should be viewed as entertainment and treated as such.
“Always make sure that you only bet what you’re willing to afford to lose. Betting is a recreational activity,” he said. “How much money would you spend on a night out with your girlfriend or wife? That’s the kind of mindset that people who are new to sports betting should really take on.”
