Betting Fans Celebrate Super Bowl

16 July 2008

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16 Feb 2006

Prop bets were all the rage this Super Bowl, with some betting sites even taking bets on whether Martians would land in time for the big final. Along with conventional bets, bets on a range of wacky scenarios were placed over the internet, leading many gambling experts to cite Super Bowl XL as the most bet-upon sporting event in history. Initial figures suggested this year's Super Bowl was expected to generate $97 million dollars from Nevada gambling fans alone, with more than $500 million predicted to hit sports betting sites online.

Gambling on sports events is nothing new, but the interest in this year's Super Bowl was nothing short of phenomenal. Last year over 500,000 individual Super Bowl bets were placed with the firm Bet on Sports. This year the gambling site processed more than 650,000 wagers. Most bets were based on two factors: the total number of points in the game and the game's outcome. However some of the more unusual prop bets gambling fans bet their money on focused on the arguably more entertaining side of Super Bowl, such as the possibility of Martians landing on the field and the chance that the Rolling Stones might refuse to tone down their language during their half time performance.

The record number of fans gambling on the game has once again focused the public spotlight on the ambiguous legality issues surrounding online gambling in the U.S. While law enforcement agencies have tried to ban the operation of sports books from within the U.S., little can be done about the majority of sites American gamblers visit which are located offshore.