Vegas Sportsbooks Reap Profits After Bucs Upset In Super Bowl 55

• Following the upset win of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55, Las Vegas’ major casinos and sportsbooks report a net $12.6 million gain in total betting profit.
• In total, over $136 million was bet in Las Vegas sportsbooks on this year’s Super Bowl.

LAS VEGAS – As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy following their victory in Super Bowl 55, many of Las Vegas’ biggest sportsbooks were celebrating as well.

With their upset of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bucs’ won a net $12.6 million for Nevada state-sponsored sportsbooks. The total reported handle on the Super Bowl this year was over $136 million.

This data is tracked strictly from the state-sponsored sportsbooks, and does not include the massive amount of money placed on the game through the use of internationally-regulated online sportsbooks.

While the bets came in strong on the Super Bowl this year, betting was actually down 12% from Super Bowl 54.

However, this trend can largely be attributed to the effects of the pandemic, which kept many bettors from making the trip to place their bets on the casino floor.

The restrictions clearly didn’t stop all of the bettors though, with five of Vegas’ six largest sportsbooks reporting single bets of at least $1 million.

One of those bettors was Houston Mattress baron Jim McIngvale, who wagered $3.46 million on the Buccaneers to cover the spread.

Many were expecting the Chiefs to win back-to-back Super Bowls behind the arm of Patrick Mahomes. After all, 83% of closing spread bets were on the Kansas City Chiefs to cover their -3.0 point line.

The books were able to turn a profit based on the Bucs’ upset, in addition to avoiding major longshot bets.

“Overall, a solid day,” said Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading for William Hill U.S. “The game going under [the total] and Tampa [covering the spread] was the preferred outcome. Not many crazy longshots happened that the public likes to bet on, which was good for us.”

Overall, many of the biggest betting states that saw major growth in sports betting legislation in 2020 saw an equal spike in Super Bowl betting.

Legal sports betting in New Jersey saw a Super Bowl handle of $117.4 million, up 116% from 2019. New Jersey sportsbooks netted a profit of $11.3 million. Other books in Illinois and Pennsylvania saw similar growth.

This is likely a telling sign of the natural development of the legal sports betting landscape in the United States. With so many states now opening up to the tourism and tax benefits of legal sports betting, it is only a matter of time before all 50 states are getting a piece of the betting pie.

News tags: Adam Pullen | Kansas City Chiefs | NFL | Super Bowl | Super Bowl 55 | Super Bowl LV | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | William Hill