30-second summary:
- Super Bowl 2019 was a low-scoring game in which the New England Patriots emerged victorious
- Most sports bets were on the Patriots to win, so the sportsbooks lost out
- FanDuel had losses of almost $5m in New Jersey
- Nevada sports bettors won about $11m on the event
Super Bowl 2019
The New England Patriots have claimed their sixth Super Bowl title. They beat the Los Angeles Rams in a low-scoring game: 13-3.
The Patriots now tie for the most Super Bowl titles a team has ever won. This game cements head coach Bill Belichick and star quarterback Tom Brady in the history books.
The Super Bowl 2019 represented the first time sports betting was legal across the country for the game. Previously, people could only place bets on the game either illegally or with Nevada sportsbooks.
Eight states now have open sportsbooks: Nevada, West Virginia, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Delaware. All were hoping to hit record highs in Super Bowl week, with it being the most popular event they have offered to date.
However, most of the bets were on the New England Patriots to win, which duly happened. Therefore, it was not a very profitable week for the sportsbooks across the country.
Not many in-game bets were made during the Super Bowl 2019. This was largely put down to the low scoring nature of the game. These types of bets usually make up a large chunk of the overall bets on major events.
The sportsbooks will gain in other ways, however, such as obtaining new customers and having bettors play other games that are on offer at their facilities.
Performance of the sportsbooks
More than 75% of the bets taken by sportsbooks favoured the New England Patriots. Many offered a welcome offer for new sports bettors that gave them better odds.
One of the biggest losers over the course of Super Bowl 2019 week was FanDuel. It saw losses worth around $5m in its New Jersey operations. This was despite FanDuel’s an introductory offer to place a bet at 53-1 on either of the teams to win. The winnings would be in store credit.
DraftKings is a long-time rival of FanDuel in both the fantasy sports space and now the sports betting sector. It had to pay out as much as $11m to bettors following the Super Bowl through its online sportsbooks.
The gambling operator released no individual figures for its casino sportsbooks in Mississippi and New Jersey. However, its loss on the event was pretty small, according to the director of its sportsbook.
In total, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the racetracks and casinos in the state saw wagers totalling almost $35m for the Super Bowl 2019. The state’s sportsbooks made a total loss of $4.5m on the Super Bowl.
Nevada still performing well
Nevada is still riding high with sports betting, hitting record revenues as of late. Some thought that the ending of the federal ban on sports betting would have a negative impact on the state’s intake. However, it looks like the draw of its sportsbooks is gaining more attention than ever.
Figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board figures indicate around were placed on? the Super Bowl 2019. Customers profited to the tune of almost $11m. This represents a significant uptick in comparison with last year’s Super Bowl, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots.
Capitalizing on big events
Sportsbooks generally have tight margins and they usually take in the majority of their money during the bigger sports events during a year. Operators try to capitalize on them as much as possible through special offers and promotions.
These events attract more casual bettors, whom the sportsbooks hope they can transform into more regular customers. The FIFA World Cup in 2018, for example, saw massive growth in the performance of sportsbooks across the world. This impetus is badly needed to keep many sportsbooks in business.