Las Vegas Casinos Have Lost On The NFL Super Bowl Twice In Three Decades

Sports bettors wagered $69.59 million on Super Bowl XXIX between the San Francisco 49ers (13-3 in the regular season) and the San Diego Chargers (11-5).

Led by future NFL Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice, San Francisco won convincingly 49-26. The Niners were massive 18.5-point favorites, and they didn’t disappoint.

The over/under on the total points was 53.5, so the total was easily cleared. The betting public prefers the over as it’s generally more fun to root for a high-scoring game.

Nevada sportsbooks as a whole lost $396,674 for a -0.57% hold. It ultimately wasn’t that big of a deal, as the Silver State sportsbooks still won $79.4 million from gamblers that year.

NFL football gamblers wagered $92.1 million on Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots (16-0) and the New York Giants (10-6).

Led by Eli Manning, New York pulled off the shocking upset 17-14. The Tom Brady-led Patriots were 12-point favorites after a perfect season until the loss.

The Over/Under on the total points was 55.

Nevada sportsbooks lost $2.57 million for a -2.80% hold. Despite the disappointing Super Bowl results, the books won $136.44 million from sports bets that year.

The sportsbooks almost had Super Bowl losses in 1992, 1998, 2011, and 2018, with less than 1% hold on the Big Game in each of those years. While gamblers sometimes do well, sometimes they are crushed.

Nevada sportsbooks won 17% of the betting handle on the 2005 Super Bowl, their highest hold percentage ever recorded for the contest.

That year, $90.75 million was bet on the Big Game, with industry winnings of $15.43 million.

New England beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. The Patriots were favored by a touchdown.

The Over/Under was 46.5 points.

The Nevada books have had at least 10% hold for 10 Super Bowls since 1991.

When you put the most wagered-on sporting event of the year (the Super Bowl) in a state that’s legendary for its gambling (Nevada), a lot of people are going to bet on it.

With Super Bowl 58 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers taking place at Allegiant Stadium, the game shattered state records for total money wagered on the Super Bowl.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, $185.6 million was wagered on the 2024 Super Bowl at the state’s 182 sportsbooks.

That eclipsed the previous high of $179.8 million in 2022 and represented a 21.1% increase over 2023’s figure of $153.2 million.

California Teams Benefit NV

This year’s record-setting total now means the two highest-grossing Super Bowls have both involved California teams, as 2022 featured the Los Angeles Rams.

California does not have legal sports betting but borders Nevada, so many Golden State residents likely crossed the border to bet on the game. Nevada also didn’t have an NFL team until 2020, so many of its residents are fans of California teams.

You do not need to be a resident of a state to bet on sports – you only need to be physically present within state borders. Accordingly, visitors who flew in from other states for the Super Bowl could place bets in Nevada.

With a few exceptions, the Super Bowl betting handle has steadily increased in Nevada over the last decade. The 2024 amount was nearly $70 million higher than the 2015 amount of $116 million – a 60% increase in just nine years.

Nevada’s sportsbooks profited from the record-setting betting activity.

The state’s sportsbooks won $6.8 million for a 3.7% hold percentage, both of which were higher than 2023’s figures ($4.4 million and 2.8%).

Those numbers are still relatively low compared to recent years, however. Before 2023, Nevada sportsbooks generated over $10 million in profits in six of the previous seven Super Bowls.

The Chiefs won both of the last two Super Bowls despite being underdogs with plus odds, cutting into the sportsbooks’ profits. Kansas City came back late to win both games, as they upset the favored Philadelphia Eagles at the end of Super Bowl 57 and beat the 49ers in overtime in Super Bowl 58.

That continues the trend of Nevada sportsbooks profiting from the Super Bowl. The state’s sportsbooks are 31-2 against the public since the Nevada Gaming Control Board started tracking Super Bowl bets in 1991, with the only losses coming in 1995 and 2008. The sportsbooks have now turned a profit in 16 straight Super Bowls.

This was only the second time that the Super Bowl took place in a state with legal sports betting. The other was in 2023 when Arizona hosted the Big Game. That trend will continue next year when Louisiana hosts the Super Bowl in 2025.

There are now more states with legal sports betting. You no longer have to be in Las Vegas to gamble legally on the Super Bowl.

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs faced off on Feb. 12, 2023 in Arizona for all the marbles, with tens of millions of Americans able to place wagers. The Chiefs prevailed 38-35.

Nevada reported a 7.4% hold on the 2023 Super Bowl. About $153.1 million was bet, with the industry winning $11.2 million. The hold was close to the 30-year average on the Big Game.

At the time of Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, sports betting was live and legal in 38 states plus the District of Columbia, and 29 of those jurisdictions allow bets to be placed over the internet.