BALTIMORE — Ravens fans are disappointed their favorite team didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year but there is something else that has a lot of Marylanders excited for the big game.
Super Bowl LVII will be the time that people in Maryland can bet on the championship game from the comfort of their own homes.
Sports betting journalist and legalization expert for Covers.com Geoff Zochodne said “there’s a really really good chance that you have people that are betting right now in Maryland that would’ve had no interest in driving out to a casino or would’ve gone and wagered last year. So, this will be a good barometer of that level of interest in the Super Bowl in Maryland.”
According to the American Gaming Association, one out of every five adults nationwide will be placing a bet on their favorite team.
It is estimated sports fans will wager about $16 billion, which is more than twice as much as last years estimates.
Super Bowl Sunday is like ‘Black Friday’ for Maryland sportsbook operators. The ads and commercials enticing football fans with promotions and bonuses to place their bets online, are nearly impossible to miss.
BetMaryland.com sports betting journalist Bill Ordine said “NFL season generally is with the Christmas season or the holiday season is to retailers.”
“This is probably the premiere sports betting event of the year for operators,” Zochodne said.
From the halftime show to the commercials, it's no secret the Super Bowl is big business both on and off the field. Online gaming also has proven to be big business in Maryland, both in and out of casinos.
“There’s nothing quite like in the sportsbook with those jumbo screens, and everybody is yelling and screaming. So, they have their own charm, the retail outlets, but in terms of generating the massive handle, it’s going to be mobile,” Ordine said.
In December 2022, Maryland sports fans wagered nearly $19 million at brick-and-mortar locations, while the handle in the first full month of mobile gaming in Maryland was more than $478 million.
“It is stunning, of the total universe of wagers made in December, and that was the first full month, 96% of those wagers were made either from someone on a computer or mobile device like a smartphone,” Ordine said.
Zochodne believes sportsbook operators win, no matter which team takes home the Lombardi trophy.
“The event itself is a really good opportunity for the companies to acquire new customers, right because you do have these people that are coming to bet that have not bet before and maybe you lose a bit of money on the game itself but you gain a customer for an extended period time and you make it back through their wagering on other events,” Zochodne said.
While Maryland’s nine retail and seven mobile sportsbooks took in a combined $497 million in December 2022, the state's cut of the action was only about $440,000.
“Big number to me if that hit my checking account, but by and large not really a huge number, and it will get bigger,” Ordine said.
“And it’ll only really become more clear what sort of factors have the biggest effect on the Maryland market as time goes on because it is still growing, it is still young,” Zochodne said.
Despite the increased interest in mobile gaming in advance of the championship game, experts also expect there to be a drop in demand after Super Bowl Sunday until March Madness gives sports fans something else to get excited about.
“The NFL season, there’s nothing like it, March Madness, nothing like it. Once we get through March Madness we will see those numbers probably dipping,” Ordine said.
