The Super Bowl has never been just a football game. It's a cultural event drawing massive audiences, billions in advertising dollars and now the single largest day for legal sports betting in the country.
Super Bowl LX, set for Feb. 8 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, will bring together the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots on one of the biggest stages in sports, with Bad Bunny headlining the halftime show. As fans prepare for watch parties, commercials and a championship matchup, millions will also be watching with money on the line.
Betting: The biggest wagering day of the year
The Super Bowl consistently generates the largest legal sports betting handle in the United States, and this year is expected to be no different. Industry analysts at Legal Sports Report project roughly $1.7 billion in legal wagers nationwide on Super Bowl LX, reflecting the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting and its growing role in how fans engage with the game.
Beyond traditional bets on the point spread or final score, Super Bowl wagering now includes hundreds of things fans can legally bet on - everything from individual player performance to moments tied to the halftime show. That range of betting options means fans are often reacting to far more than the final whistle.
Hua Gong: How betting changes way fans experience the game
That scale matters, says Hua Gong, assistant professor of sport analytics at Rice University, whose research examines the broader effects of legalized sports betting on fan behavior and social outcomes.
Gong's research has found that legalized sports betting is associated with measurable increases in impulsive and aggressive behavior on game days, particularly during high-profile events like the Super Bowl - and that effect isn't limited to states where betting is legal.
"When betting becomes easier and more widespread, emotional investment increases," Gong says. "Fans aren't just watching; they have something riding on nearly every play."
While regulated betting markets offer transparency and consumer protections, Gong notes that the heightened emotional and financial stakes can amplify reactions, especially when outcomes defy expectations - a familiar storyline on Super Bowl Sunday.
Beyond betting, for Tom Stallings, professor in the practice of sport management at Rice, the Super Bowl offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the business of sports operates at its highest level.
From ticket pricing strategies and sponsorship structures to broadcast and media rights deals, the event reflects a carefully designed revenue system built to deliver maximum value for the league and its partners. Stallings examines how these models are constructed, where financial risks emerge for host cities and organizers and how return on investment is evaluated once the crowds leave and the cameras shut off.
In addition, Frederi Viens, professor of statistics and economics, can comment on probability and statistics related to sports betting on the Super Bowl.
Scott Powers, assistant professor of sport analytics, can comment on how sports analytics and performance data inform strategy and real-time decision-making in high-stakes games like the Super Bowl.
