A recent poll of 1,522 adults revealed an increase of 15% for people who will wager on the Super Bowl compared to results from 2019.
According to the findings from a Seton Hall Sports Poll showed 27% of those polled will bet on the Super Bowl. That number was just 12% when taken in 2019.
"That is a notable change denoting either a rise in the gambling itself and/or the level of comfort with acknowledging the behavior,” Seton Hall professor of marketing and poll methodologist Daniel Ladik said.
That's probably not a shocking revelation as legal sports betting becomes more and more popular as options expand in states. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was repealed in May of 2018 and New Jersey launched legal sportsbooks in June of that year. Since then, 23 states have launched legal sports betting of some kind. Just 11 of those states have online betting available, which is also a big factor in expansion.
Thirty percent of those who said they do bet on sports said they bet via mobile. Another 13% said they bet both in person and on mobile apps.
“Through widespread marketing and partnerships with the leagues, legal wagering is working its way into the fabric of the sports universe at a rapid pace, particularly among younger people who have grown up in a digital world and are comfortable with online gaming options like DraftKings, FanDuel and any number of online casinos that offer a dizzying array of game and proposition betting opportunities," Ladik said.
Out of the 18-34 age demographic polled, 40% said they've placed a bet.
While not scientific, it shows both how far sports betting has come and how much room is left to grow. Over 70% polled have never bet on sports. It's more likely someone in a state without legal sports betting or mobile betting will say no compared to those in states where it's easier to wager. Those polled were located throughout the country, not just in states where it's legal to bet on sports. The poll has a 3.2% error margin.