Sunday's edition of the Super Bowl will be historic in a handful of ways, including being the first NFL title game to feature two Black starting quarterbacks and the first to be held in a state – in this instance, Arizona – with legal sports betting.'
But by the time the 2025 Super Bowl reaches its conclusion, at least one of these milestones (and possibly both) will feel like business as usual.
After State Farm Stadium, home to a BetMGM sportsbook on its Great Lawn, hosts this year's game in suburban Phoenix, consecutive Super Bowls will be played in Las Vegas and New Orleans – two cities in mobile betting states that are known for their tolerance for risk and revelry. The former municipality has long been America's gambling Mecca and sits in the only U.S. state in which someone could legally place a sports wager before PASPA was struck down in 2018. Meanwhile, the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans will be the first to be held in a stadium, the Caesars Superdome, bearing the name of a gaming company.
The three games present a tremendous opportunity to the sports betting industry in a climate where such wagering has become increasingly normalized. But with the prospect of reward comes tremendous responsibility, as well as a nagging concern that, if it's not careful, the burgeoning industry might outkick its coverage.
‘A fascinating case study’
“I think this will be a fascinating case study in how U.S. audiences engage in betting during massive sports events,” said Brett Abarbanel, executive director of UNLV's International Gaming Institute. “There is some research that shows that people who bet on sports have a higher engagement with the games themselves, and with an event the size of the Super Bowl, fans are primed to supplement their viewing experience with betting.'
“The large amount of advertising that comes with the Super Bowl will also be reflected in gambling engagement. Last year, we started to see the major presence of gambling advertising during the Super Bowl broadcast, and the past year has seen a growth in betting discussions through the broadcast itself, too. I expect we'll see that reflected in this year's show, as well as the years to come.”
“When you’ve got in-stadium betting, it’s likely going to be heavily promoted,” said Keith Whyte, executive director for the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). “You have the opportunity for negative outcomes – everything from unruly fans upset that a fumble just cost them a lot of money, harassment of players and officials, wild allegations that the game is fixed by somebody somehow.”
Whyte was quick to criticize Arizona for its choice “not to put any revenue from sports betting into gambling treatment” and warns of “a budding narrative that there's too much promotion of gambling.”
“We're hearing from members of Congress that there are too many gambling ads,” Whyte explained. “There are enormous opportunities to lean into responsible gambling and there are also enormous opportunities to feed into the backlash. The league, the clubs, the operators, the state government – are they going to try to use the opportunity to double down on responsible gambling or are they going to give ammunition to critics who are concerned about reckless oversaturation of advertising and too much gambling in sports? Those concerns are exactly what led to further restrictions in Australia and, in my opinion, what promoted the backlash in the U.K.”