Fans Bet Billions On Big Game
More money is bet on the Super Bowl than any other sporting event in the United States.
Americans spent about $4.7 billion betting on the NFL championship in 2017, according to an American casino trade group. And those totals continue to climb every year.
Everyone wants a piece of the action — whether you’re watching the big game at a Las Vegas sports book, a Super Bowl party at a local bar, or just enjoying the special event with a group of friends at home. The Super Bowl is also the most-watched program on television every year … and there’s no close second.
Gamblers aren’t the only ones betting big on the matchup between the AFC and NFC champions. Just look at what advertisers are willing to pay to push their products in front of a Super Bowl audience: Buying a 30-second spot costs more than $5 million on average, according to Variety.
The New England Patriots will try to defend their title in Super Bowl LII. They are five-point favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles (early betting lines provided by bovada.lv).
The Patriots have won five Super Bowls, including two of the last three. The Eagles have never won the Lombardi Trophy, but they have been to the Super Bowl twice — they lost in Super Bowl XV to Oakland and XXXIX to New England.
For the first few decades of the Super Bowl, which started in 1967, the favorites dominated against the spread. The teams picked to win by oddsmakers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy 70 per cent (14-6) of the time in the first 20 title games.
But that trend has definitely not continued throughout the history of the championship. As a matter of fact, the smart bet has been to wager on the underdog in the last 16 years.
The team getting the points in the spread is 12-4. It took the biggest comeback in the history of the championship to stop that streak from continuing last year when the Patriots, favored to win by three points, stunned the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime. The New England victory also halted a five-game winning streak where the underdogs won the game outright.
The NFC holds a 26-25 edge over the AFC in the first 51 Super Bowl matchups. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl wins at six, while the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers all have five.
Super Bowl Betting Trivia
Favorites have gone 35-16 straight up and 27-22-2 against the spread in the Super Bowl. A team has been favored by 10 points or more 14 times. They have gone 7-6-1 ATS.
The Patriots were the last team to be favored by double digits in Super Bowl XLII. They lost as 12-point favorites 17-14. The biggest upset came in Super Bowl III when the New York Jets beat the Baltimore Colts 16-7 as 18-point underdogs.
The over/under bet has gone 26-24. There was no point total offered in the first Super Bowl. The highest total betting line was 57 points, with both sides winning once each. The lowest total betting line offered was 33 points. The over won in Super Bowl XXXV, while the under took the other three.
While the betting lines change year to year, there’s one thing that remains the same for every Super Bowl: The lineups to make a bet are huge at Las Vegas sports books on the Strip.
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