Betting on Taylor Swift’s On-Time Arrival at the Super Bowl: Exploring the World of ‘Prop Bets’ Fueled by Online Gambling
Even if you know nothing about football, you can bet real money on the Super Bowl. As online betting expands, potential bettors have access to hundreds of entertaining (and legal) Super Bowl-related bets. These range from predicting the first word Usher will say during his halftime performance to determining whether Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift will announce a surprise pregnancy.
Industry research estimates that gamblers will bet a record $1.3 billion on the Big Game this year. Betting goes beyond just points scored and the game’s winner, as sportsbooks are offering dozens of “novelty” proposition bets to attract a non-sports-savvy clientele.
In 2018, the Supreme Court legalized sports betting, leading to the rapid growth of legal gambling and the introduction of state-level operations. This has resulted in a $280 billion gambling market. The online gambling market alone is estimated to have reached $2.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $9 billion in 2024.
A 2022 Pew study found that 20% of Americans had bet money on sports in the last year, a number likely to have increased as gambling apps have become more popular and legal in 38 states. Younger men are more likely to bet on sports, but prop bets like those introduced ahead of the Super Bowl aim to attract a younger and less sports-obsessed crowd.
Caesars Entertainment introduced the first Super Bowl prop bet as a gag in 1986. Prop bets have since become a cultural phenomenon. This year, prop bets cover categories such as predicting the opening coin toss, the color of Gatorade poured over the winning coach after the game, and even where Kelce and Swift will spend Valentine’s Day post-game.
Analysts estimate that the total volume of bets placed on Super Bowl LVIII will be 20% higher than last year, representing a nearly 1,000% gain since legalization in 2018. This year’s Super Bowl is expected to break betting records, and sports betting has brought in over $4 billion in nationwide tax revenue since its legalization.
Las Vegas, as a professional sports town, is expected to attract significant interest and transaction volume for the record-breaking Super Bowl. The location and star-studded teams competing in this year’s game are prime candidates to shatter betting records.
This content was originally featured on Fortune.com