Topline
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are set to face off in Super Bowl LVII in two weeks, after winning their respective conference championships Sunday, and sportsbooks are projecting a closely matched contest between the two teams.
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the … [+]
Key Facts
The Chiefs have a 57% chance of beating the Eagles at the Super Bowl, according to FiveThirtyEight, after the Chiefs narrowly overcame the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game and the Eagles easily ousted the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC contest.
However, some sportsbooks slightly favored the Eagles over the Chiefs shortly after the NFC and AFC championships wrapped up: BetMGM and DraftKings both pegged the Eagles as 2.5-point favorites with an implied 55% chance of winning as of 10:45 p.m. Sunday, and set the over/under at 49.5 combined points scored by both teams.
Both sportsbooks placed the Eagles’ odds at -135, meaning a $135 bet would lead to $100 in winnings if the Eagles take home the Lombardi trophy, while the Chiefs were priced at +115, meaning a $100 bet in their favor would net $115 in winnings.
Surprising Fact
Kansas City (+550) was favored to win next year’s Super Bowl according to odds posted by DraftKings earlier this week, followed by Buffalo (+600), San Francisco (+700) and Cincinnati (+900). The Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans are the least favored, at +10,000.
Big Number
$179 million. That’s how much was wagered in Nevada on last year’s Super Bowl, according to BetFirm. Sportsbooks returned on 8.6% of those bets, bringing in just over $15 million in profit.
Key Background
The number of people betting on NFL games has increased exponentially in recent years, according to a study by the American Gaming Association, a trade group for the gambling industry, as a record 46.6 million Americans—or 18% of all adults—said they planned to wager on the 2022 season. Increased betting participation is driven partly by more states legalizing sports gambling, as only 19 states allowed residents to place bets on sporting events in 2020, compared to 32 in 2022. The Super Bowl continues to attract more betting than any other American sporting event, as the American Gaming Association estimated 31.4 million Americans bet a combined $7.6 billion on last year’s event, according to Reuters. Preseason odds prior to this season favored the Buffalo Bills (+350) to win the Super Bowl, according to Tipico Sportsbook, followed by Kansas City (+425), Philadelphia and San Francisco at +550 and Cincinnati (+750).
Further Reading
How Much Money Is Bet On The Super Bowl? (Forbes)
How Much Will It Cost To Go To The Super Bowl In Phoenix? About $8,700 (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/01/29/eagles-and-chiefs-are-headed-to-super-bowl-lvii-here-are-the-betting-odds/