Pennsylvania Sportsbooks Lose Millions on Super Bowl

Bettors in Pennsylvania were squarely behind the hometown Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and they were not disappointed. Philadelphia rolled to a dominating 42-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, costing sportsbooks operating in the Keystone State millions of dollars.

Fly, Eagles, Fly

It is no secret that many people bet with their hearts, and although that’s not necessarily a recipe for success, it worked out very well for Eagles fans who made their Super Bowl wagers at one of the state’s 11 mobile sports betting platforms or any one of the 18 retail locations in the state.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced that 91.2% of the money wagered on the Super Bowl was facilitated through online sites, and the handle of $101,548,073 broke the previous record of $84,313,189 by 20% set two years ago when the Eagles and Chiefs battled in Super Bowl LVII.

According to the press release issued by the PGCB, “The Board noted in particular a high percentage of wagers placed on the Eagles to win.”

Historic Loss

That wasn’t surprising considering the hearts and minds of most Pennsylvanians were with the Eagles, much to the chagrin of sportsbooks in the state. When the dust settled, Pennsylvania Super Bowl bettors beat the books for over $6.5 million, which set a new low-water mark for sports betting platforms in the state.

Previously, the worst Super Bowl in terms of negative revenue since Pennsylvania mobile sportsbooks began operating nearly six years ago was in 2020, when the Chiefs and 49ers competed in Super Bowl LIV, and Keystone State sportsbooks lost $3.3 million.

Super Bowl Success Everywhere Else

Aside from those sportsbooks operating in Pennsylvania, Super Bowl LIX was heralded as a success in virtually every other state where licensed sportsbooks operate.

Record-Setting Event

“Super Bowl LIX was the single biggest betting event in the history of BetMGM,” the sportsbook’s senior trading manager, Christian Cipollini, said. “It took the most bets and was one of the best single-game results in company history.”

Joey Feazel, Caesars Sportsbook’s head of football, noted, “Overall, Super Bowl LIX was a decent result for the sportsbook, as more customers backed the Chiefs in this game and in the futures pool than the Eagles. There were a variety of touchdown scorers, which would usually be favorable to the customers, but unfortunately, Saquon Barkley was the most popular SGP leg, and he did not see the end zone.”

Parlays Favor the House

Same-game parlays are the cash cow of sportsbooks everywhere because they are more difficult for bettors to win than flat bets. However, they are also much more enticing due to the low-risk-high-reward nature of the wager. In Super Bowl LIX, many of those parlays were shattered due to the lack of production by Saquon Barkley and Travis Kelce, two stars who were integral to parlay success for many.

“Philadelphia was the result we preferred for the Super Bowl winner, and obviously Barkley and Kelce not having the type of days that many hope for, showed good results,” said bet365 trading leader Aron Wattleworth.

A DraftKings spokesperson also commented on Super Bowl LIX, stating, “We were happy with how the night went.”