Super Bowl LVI Yields New Jersey More than $140M in Handle

Super Bowl LVI handle in New Jersey exceeded $140 million, the state’s gambling regulator announced. According to preliminary figures, sports bettors have wagered a total of $143.7 million on the professional football competition.

Bettors Wagered Over $140M

This number marks a 22.4% year-on-year increase compared to 2021. Last year, the state’s operators only got $117.4 million in handle during the Super Bowl.

The figures were officially released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the Garden State’s gambling authority. The aforementioned numbers take into consideration the state’s 12 retail sportsbooks as well as its 24 mobile sportsbooks. 

The Super Bowl LVI is already finished with the Los Angeles Rams as the champions. The season has been a great time for sports betting as a whole and its success isn’t only limited to New Jersey. In Nevada, sports bettors collectively wagered over $180 million, marking a 32% year-on-year increase and completely shattering the state’s record.

Geolocation transactions have more than doubled up, according to the cybersecurity provider GeoComply. The company reported that more than 80.1 million geolocation transactions were made during the Super Bowl weekend.

Some Were Lucky, Others Were Not

The sportsbooks aren’t the only ones who benefited from the strong year. New Jersey bettors also had a favorable Super Bowl season, with operators’ projected payout sitting at $135.9 million – a 28% increase compared to $106.1 million in 2021. Sportsbooks recorded a win of $7.8 million, which is a few million less than 2021’s $11.3 million.

For some people, this year’s Super Bowl season was a great success. The famous singer and four-time Grammy winner, Drake, bet on the game three times, using a total of $1.25 million in Bitcoin. Two of his bets ended up yielding him back $1.4 million.

Not everyone was as lucky as Drake, though. The businessman Jim McIngvale, also known as Mattress Mack, also tried his luck. Mack was daring and placed a whopping $9.5 million bet on the Cincinnati Bengals, hoping that they will end up winning the Big Game. Not only did he wager a jaw-dropping amount of money, but he also cemented his name in history since this is the biggest legal bet to date. If the Bengals had won, Mattress Mack would have earned as much as $16.15 million. Sadly, he ended up losing his bet.

Lastly, the Super Bowl saw new betting alliances being made. The Jackpocket lottery app and WynnBET inked a deal hours before the start of the Big Game on Sunday.