The Super Bowl gets the Vegas treatment, with 1 in 4 American adults expected to gamble on the big game

Billions of dollars are being bet on the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Ethan Miller/Getty Images by Thomas Oates, University of Iowa CC BY-ND A record 67.8 million American adults are expected to bet US$23.1 billion on Super Bowl LVIII, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for the American Gaming Association. The estimated number of bettors has increased 35% from the previous Super Bowl, while the total amount being bet is estimated to have shot up from $16 billion in 2023. Both figures would represent records – fitting for a Super Bowl held in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the U.S. For the NFL, partnering with sportsbooks has been a boon for business. The relationship appears to be a natural one: Though sports betting was illegal in most of the country until 2018, it’s always been a part of sports fandom. But as a sports media scholar, I find the league’s embrace of gambling so striking because for most of its history, the NFL had pushed the government for stricter regulations, not more lenient ones. Particularly in its early days, the NFL wanted to avoid the stain of bookies, bets, fixed...