- Nevada sportsbooks reported a dropoff of 15% from its Super Bowl LVII betting handle versus the previous year.
- The drop in the Silver State’s Super Bowl handle was attributed to more competition and a crash by a top-grossing sportsbook.
- Nevada is expected to see a huge increase in handle for Super Bowl 58 which will take place in Las Vegas.
As expected, Super Bowl LVII was an overall betting success for the legal U.S. sports betting market. However, and rather surprisingly, Nevada sportsbooks saw a decline in betting handle versus the previous year.
Nevada’s total betting handle for Super Bowl 57 came in at $153.2 million which was a 15% drop-off from last year’s $179.8 million when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.
Nevada sportsbooks also reported a hold of 7.4% or a combined revenue of $11.3 million which was a decline versus the previous year’s figures of $15.6 million and 8.6%. That hold is also the lowest since 2019 when the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 at Super Bowl LIII.
In a statement, Nevada Gaming Control Board senior economic analyst Mike Lawton said:
“The results were off compared to last year’s all-time record. However, this year’s total was the fourth-highest in state history. Obviously, the technical issues experienced by one of our operators impacted totals this year, in addition to the Super Bowl being played in Arizona, which recently legalized sports wagering.”
More Competition and Tech Issues Contributed to Decline
As mentioned by Lawton, last year’s Super Bowl handle is the state record-holder. Prior to 2022, the record was $158.6 million in 2018 when the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII (41-33) against the New England Patriots.
That means that while this year’s numbers failed to match last year’s, it’s still a respectable haul because it’s within range of the previous mark and is still the 4th highest Super Bowl handle ever in the Silver State. The number, however, could have been better. But there was more competition this year than before.
At the time of Super Bowl LVII, sports betting was both live and legal in 33 states plus the District of Columbia. Twenty-five of those jurisdictions offered legal online sports betting, including Arizona whose State Farm Stadium hosted last Sunday’s Big Game. It was also the first time where a Super Bowl was played in a stadium with a retail sportsbook inside it.
Then there was the Caesars Sportsbook crash.
— William Hill US (@WilliamHillUS) February 14, 2023
William Hill-operated Caesars Sportsbook suffered tech issues during the second quarter of the game, forcing its online sports betting site and retail systems to go offline. With Caesars’ system going down, it was unable to take more bets.
While the issue did not affect Caesars Sportsbook’s operations in other states, it affected not only the performance of online sports betting in Nevada but also in-person sports wagering, with Caesars owning 16 properties with sportsbooks in Nevada.
In 2021, Caesars accounted for approximately 50% of the legal bets in Nevada, where industry leaders like DraftKings and FanDuel are not currently present. Not having the operator for most of the game surely affected Nevada’s Super Bowl numbers.
Despite Drop in Handle, Nevada Sportsbooks Still Came Out Ahead
Over the past three decades, Nevada sportsbooks have taken more than $3 billion in Super Bowl bets, holding out 7.8% of the handle for a win of around $240 million. During that span, Nevada sportsbooks have lost only twice against the betting public in 32 years.
The first came at Super Bowl XLII in 2008 when the New York Giants upset the New England Patriots as 12-point spread underdogs. The Patriots entered the Super Bowl with a perfect record, but Eli Manning and the Giants surprised Tom Brady and Bill Belichick with a 17-14 upset win.
Nevada posted a betting handle of $92.1 million during that game but the hold was at -2.8% and sportsbooks lost $2.57 million. Despite suffering a Super Bowl loss, Nevada sportsbooks recorded $136.44 million in wins that year.
The other time that Nevada sportsbook lost at the Super Bowl was at Super Bowl XXXIX in 1995 when the San Francisco 49ers faced the San Diego Chargers. The 49ers were a huge 18.5-point spread favorite but with future Hall-of-Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice leading the way, they won the game and covered the spread with the score of 49-26.
Sportsbooks wrote a total of $69.5 million worth of sports bets in Nevada that year. They registered a hold of -0.57% or a loss of $396,674 but Nevada sportsbooks still finished the year with a robust $79.4 million revenue.
Four times during that period – 1992, 1998, 2011, and 2018, Silver State sportsbooks posted holds of less than 1% and almost had losses. Meanwhile, they registered a hold of at least 10% 19 times since 1991.
The largest hold during this three-decade span was in 2005 when the New England Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 as 7-point favorites. That year, Nevada Sportsbooks posted a huge hold of 17% on a total handle of $90.75 million or a win of $15.43 million.
Overall, despite the drop in handle, Super Bowl LVII was still a success for Nevada sportsbooks as they came out ahead in revenue.
Las Vegas is on the clock for the next Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/42cNNnwVe1
— José M. Romero (@RomeroJoseM) February 13, 2023
Super Bowl LVIII is Projected to See a Record Breaking Handle
Next year’s Super Bowl is expected to be an even bigger event with Las Vegas’ own Allegiant Stadium hosting the Big Game. WestGate Superbook vice president Jay Kornegay told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he expects next year’s handle to hit $200 million, even reaching the $210 million to $215 million mark.
This is the first time that Las Vegas has hosted a Super Bowl, making it the 19th city to have such honors. Nevada will become the 11th state to have hosted a Super Bowl.
In addition to a record handle, industy insiders also believe that Super Bowl 58 ticket prices can see an all-time high. Super Bowl 58 will take place on February 11, 2024.
