A record number of Americans will wager a record amount of money on Super Bowl 58 according to an American Gaming Association survey released Tuesday.

More than 67.8 million American adults are expected to place a wager on The Big Game this week, featuring the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. 

That figure represents more than a quarter of the adult U.S. population. It marks a 35% boost over the number of American adults who wagered on Super Bowl 57, the AGA survey finds. 

An estimated $23.1 billion will be wagered legally and illegally on The Big Game. That’s a 44% leap from the $16 billion in bets placed on Super Bowl 57. 

The AGA survey numbers include all types of betting, including wagering done through legal U.S. sportsbetting apps, retail U.S. sportsbooks, illegal/offshore betting sites, bookmakers, and casuals personal bets made by friends and co-workers. 

5 New States Have Online Betting For Super Bowl 58

When Super Bowl 58 begins at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday in Las Vegas, 38 states will have live and legal sports betting. Those states encompass a population of 167.4 million people. North Carolina is set to go live online on March 11. 

Five states have come online with legal betting since last year’s game:

• Masschusetts
• Kentucky
• Florida
• Maine
• Vermont

Florida has just one legal sports betting app – Hard Rock Bet. The Tribe also takes retail sports bets at its casinos. Florida is the most-populous state in the nation that allows sports betting with 21 million people.

The addition of those states will contribute to an estimated $1.3 billion bet on the game through legal sports books in the U.S., a bookies.com study has found. 

The AGA survey says:

• 42.7 million American adults plan to place a traditional sports wager online, at a retail book or with a bookie, up 41% from 2023
• 36.5 million plan to bet casually with friends or as part of a pool or squares contest, up 32% from 2023
• 28.7 million adults, or 11%, intend to place online wagers using a legal U.S. sportsbook. 

“As the Super Bowl comes to Las Vegas for the first time, this year’s record interest in wagering marks a full circle moment for the U.S. gaming industry,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a release. “Our priority remains getting this opportunity right by providing the consumer protections only a regulated market can guarantee and investing in responsible gambling tools, safeguards and education.”

Legal Betting's Growth Brings Concerns, Scrutiny

Despite the growth in legal sports betting, illegal/offshore books continue to proliferate. 

In just the past week, the New York Times, NPR, and CBS News have published stories highlighting Taylor Swift-themed prop wagers that are not legally allowed in regulated U.S. betting markets. 

The CBS report drew extra attention since it preceded a "60 Minutes” report about problem gambling.

CBS acknowledged but did not comment to bookies.com when asked about the CBS News story, or the network's plans for handling gambling issues during the Super Bowl telecast.

This year, there will only be three sports betting-related ads airing just before and during the Super Bowl. While the NFL has limited the number of sports betting ads that could air during the game to roughly one per quarter, this is fewer than the number of slots allotted.

A 30-second, in-game spot during the Super Bowl costs $7 million this year. 

Among the sports betting ads this time will be a FanDuel spot (above) featuring Rob Gronkowski’s “Kick of Destiny II.” That is set to air live right before kickoff. Another spot from BetMGM features Tom Brady, Gronkowski’s former QB in New England and Tampa Bay. 

'Responsible Gaming' Message Being Heard

The NFL and, finally, sports books operators have realized that the saturation of TV ads has become a flashpoint for both the public and state regulators. 

“There’s times when we’re held accountable for ads that are not running in our games, that are running on other sports programming or sports radio throughout the week,” said David Highhill, the NFL’s general manager for sports betting, during a conference call last week. “Unfortunately, we can’t control all ads everywhere.”

The legal sports betting industry has gone all-in in pushing the “responsible gaming” message. 

The AGA survey said 75% of “traditional” Super Bowl bettors have seen at least one message promoting responsible gambling (RG) message in the last year. It also found 47% of all American adults recall hearing or seeing RG messaging in the past year, up from 40% last year. 

But there is no statistically significant data available as to how well the RG message is connecting with gamblers, or if would-be problem bettors are connecting with the help they need.

“The thrill of the game and the passion of the fans are what make sports so rewarding and fun. Legalized sports betting builds on this excitement,” said former NFL running back Mark Ingram II in a statement. He will be working radio row in Las Vegas this week with Miller to discuss the growth of legal betting and the importance of RG messaging. 

AGA Survey Methodology

Morning Consult conducted the online survey on behalf of the AGA between January 30 – February 1, among a national sample of 2,204 adults. The data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment and region. The margin of error is +/-2 percent and greater among subgroups. Bettors include those who expect to place a bet online, with a bookie, with a casino sportsbook, in a pool or squares contest, or casually with family or friends.