The sportsbooks usually taketh. They certainly did that in Pennsylvania for Super Bowl LVII. But the house in Kansas gaveth plenty.
The Kansas Lottery released figures Thursday from sports wagering on the NFL’s marquee event, the first time Sunflower State bettors could wager on the Super Bowl after the activity launched there last fall. It turns out there were plenty of Chiefs fans who were quite confident Patrick Mahomes and company would deliver just as he did in Kansas City’s 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12.
The Kansas and Pennsylvania sports wagering markets provided a staggering disparity in outcomes for both the betting public and the operators who accepted those bets.
Kansas public comes out $14.5 million ahead
INBOX: The @Kansas_Lottery's inaugural Super Bowl handle and revenue #SportsBetting numbers (includes futures):
Handle: $24,743,817
GGR: -$14,519,791
Win Rate: -58.68%That is a first-class whuppin'
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) February 23, 2023
Whether it was futures, parlays, in-game wagers, or straight bets, it seems like everything Kansas bettors tried their hands at came up winners. The state agency reported $24.7 million handle for Super Bowl LVII when including futures bets, with just over 90% of that amount originating with Kansas’ six online operators. The state’s five brick-and-mortar sportsbooks accepted $2.4 million in bets, taking it on the chin just like online counterparts.
The public came out $1.9 million ahead from its retail bets, resulting in a hold of minus-77.2% across the five venues. Mobile operators handed out close to $35 million from winning tickets on $22.3 million handle, as their hold rate was only slightly less painful at minus-56.7%.
The Kansas Lottery highlighted some of the larger winning bets, including:
- A $12,000 in-game wager for the Chiefs to win at +330, which paid out $39,600 in winnings.
- A multi-sport $300 parlay of the Houston Astros winning the World Series, Georgia winning the College Football Playoff, and the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl, which paid out $30,000.
- A $20 wager at +35000 for an exact score final of 38-35 Chiefs, which paid out $7,000 in winnings.
- A $300 same-game parlay bet of anytime touchdowns by Isiah Pacheco, Travis Kelce, and A.J. Brown bundled with picks of over 50.5 points and Chiefs +1.5, which paid out $6,536.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that if the Super Bowl-related losses contributed to overall monthly adjusted gross revenue losses for February, Kansas-based operators are permitted to carry those losses over to subsequent months. PointsBet and BetMGM are the only online sportsbooks that carried AGR losses into February, with PointsBet nearly $27,000 down and BetMGM carrying slightly more than $1.5 million in losses into February wagering.
Pennsylvania sportsbooks win $29.5 million
It was also the first time Pennsylvania fans could wager on the Eagles in the Super Bowl, given their upset of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII in 2018 came months before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA to pave the way for state-by-state betting.
Pennsylvania had seen notable upticks in Super Bowl wagering each of the first three years it was available, going from $30.7 million in 2020 to $53.6 million in 2021 to $68 million last year. The Eagles did their part in getting people to place wagers, as handle surged 23.9% to $84.3 million this time.
Keystone State sportsbooks had mixed results the previous three Super Bowls: They lost $2.8 million in 2020, won convincingly in 2021 with $9.4 million thanks to a 17.5% hold, and last year posted a 6.7% hold — just off the 7% industry standard — to claim $4.6 million.
Even with Jalen Hurts having a monstrous individual performance with three rushing touchdowns while throwing for a fourth score and finishing with 374 yards of total offense, Philadelphia sportsbooks raked in plenty of green thanks to the gang in midnight green coming up short. Operators totaled $29.7 million in Super Bowl revenue — compared to entire gross revenue generated in the state of $58 million in January — while posting a staggering hold of 35.3%.
Brick-and-mortar venues routed the betting public with a 45.1% hold, claiming $4.7 million from $10.3 million wagered. Online operators also had a field day, finishing with $25.1 million from $74 million bet for a 33.9% win rate.
