In "Uncut Gems," the 2019 film starring Adam Sandler and directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, Sandler's character, Howard Ratner, throws down a significant wager on a parlay that includes a bet with near-instant settlement: Celtics to win the opening tip.
Getting instant gratification out of a bet has become more and more popular among bettors. Bettors are becoming increasingly invested in offerings such as the RFI (Runs First Inning – Yes or No) in baseball, or the First Basket props in basketball.
The amount of ways football bettors can get instant gratification are myriad, including first plays, first touchdowns, etc. But the Super Bowl provides an even earlier way to cash a winning ticket. A bet that will have you celebrating or chasing before the ball is even kicked off.
That's right, let's bet on the Super Bowl coin toss — find the latest coin toss odds, heads vs. tails history and our best bet below.
Super Bowl Coin Toss Odds
The most important thing you can do when betting the coin toss is find the best odds available. Here's what price both sides of the coin are being offered at various sportsbooks as of Wednesday afternoon:
| Sportsbook | Odds |
|---|---|
| DraftKings | +100 |
| ESPN BET | +100 |
| BetMGM | -102 |
| BetRivers | -103 |
| FanDuel | -104 |
| Caesars | -105 |
| bet365 | -105 |
DraftKings and ESPN BET are both offering both heads and tails at even money. While there's obviously no guarantee you will win a bet if you place one on either side of the coin at those sportsbooks, the fact that you can get your money down without a vig on this 50/50 bet makes it more worth it should you feel inclined to bet this prop.
If you only have your money in one of the other sportsbooks, don't fret. There’s no shame in a little -EV gambling. Betting at any of the other listed sportsbooks is actually a better bet mathematically than going to a casino and placing your money on red or black at the roulette table.
In fact, a normal roulette table takes a larger vig than even the -110 markets. So when your friend asks why you’re betting on the coin toss, now you can turn the tables on them and explain the bet you made is actually more reasonable than their last trip to the roulette tables.
Super Bowl Coin Toss History
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Tails |
| 2015 | Tails |
| 2016 | Tails |
| 2017 | Tails |
| 2018 | Heads |
| 2019 | Tails |
| 2020 | Tails |
| 2021 | Heads |
| 2022 | Heads |
| 2023 | Tails |
| 2024 | Heads |
Betting on the coin toss in the Super Bowl has been around since at least the 1980s but reportedly became popularized in 1994 by Imperial Palace in Las Vegas. At first, it was offered as "Which team will win the coin toss?" and eventually transitioned into heads or tails.
It's now among the most popular prop bets offered during the Super Bowl. In fact, as of Friday, BetMGM reported that it was their most-bet Super Bowl prop.
That may seem ridiculous to some, but to many bettors, there's a perfectly good reason to bet the coin toss: it's one of the lowest vig bets on the board. A large majority of the bets recreational bettors place on the Super Bowl will be -EV (expected value). The coin toss being a true 50/50 event, and being offered at even money — as it is at DraftKings and ESPN BET — then makes it among the more logical bets you can place.
For what it's worth, in the 58 Super Bowls that preceded this one, the coin has landed on tails 30 times and heads 28 times.
Other Ways to Bet the Coin Toss
Last season, the 49ers were the designated road team in Super Bowl 58 against the Chiefs and called tails. It landed on heads, so the Chiefs won the toss and deferred to the second half.
As we know, the Chiefs won the game in overtime, making that the second straight year that the team that won the toss won the game. Prior to those two years (both Chiefs victories, as you know), we had a stretch of nine straight years where the team that won the coin toss lost the game.
DraftKings is once again offering a pre-built parlay of the coin toss winner + the game winner being the same team. At the time of this writing, those odds are +255 for the Chiefs to win both the coin toss and the game, and +320 on the Eagles to win both the coin toss and the game.
Keep in mind this parlay is introducing more juice and house edge than just traditionally betting the +100 coin flip.
If betting the actual coin toss outcome isn’t your thing, you can also choose to bet which team will win the toss. It’s the exact same bet from a numbers perspective, but maybe rabid Chiefs and Eagles fans want to set the tone with a win over the other team before the ball is even kicked off.
How Are People Betting the Coin Toss?
As mentioned earlier, BetMGM reported that as of Friday, the coin toss has been their most-bet prop of any Super Bowl prop they offer, according to Vegas Insider's Patrick Everson.
The sportsbook also noted that 53% of the bets they've taken on the coin toss have been on heads; however, 53% of the money has been on tails.
At DraftKings — this time as of Monday — 55% of the bets have been on tails, but 55% of the money has been on heads.
In the market of which team will win the coin toss, the numbers are more diverse. At DraftKings, 60% of the bets are on the Eagles to win the coin toss, but 61% of the money is on the Chiefs to win the coin toss.
And at BetMGM, 52% of the money is on the Chiefs to win the coin toss, while 51% of the money is on them — which is substantially down from the 70% the sportsbook reported earlier this week.
Super Bowl Coin Toss Best Bet
Kansas City has the choice on the coin toss as the designated away team for the Super Bowl. One of the Chiefs captains will make the call for heads or tails and then all eyes will be on head referee Ron Torbert for the most exciting three seconds in sports betting.
It is with a significant amount of jest that I call this a "best bet," but in the most vig-less bet of the Super Bowl, the old adage is going to ring true.
Tails never fails.
