Super Bowl LIX is in the past, and the Philadelphia Eagles took home the Lombardi Trophy in dominating fashion over the Kansas City Chiefs. The game was a route, and the final score of 40-22 wasn’t even indicative of how the game actually played. The Eagles could have won that game 40-6, but the Chiefs scored some late garbage time touchdowns on the backups to make it seem like a semi-closer affair.
As you probably could guess, the Super Bowl is the biggest event in American Sports by a mile, and as such, the amount of money that is bet on the game is outrageous. With the legalization of sports betting in many states across the country, and more to come soon enough, the handle on this game is likely only going to rise every year. Over at BetMGM Sportsbook, it was absolute pandemonium.
"Super Bowl LIX was the single biggest betting event in the history of BetMGM,” said BetMGM senior trading manager Christian Cipolini. “It took the most bets, and was one of the best single game results in company history. Super Bowl bettors cashed in on Eagles money line and Jalen Hurts Super Bowl MVP, but both defenses slowing down Saquon Barkley and Travis Kelce netted a great result for us."
That is a pretty strong statement made by Cipolini there. Not only was Super Bowl LIX the biggest betting event in the history of their sportsbook, but it also was one of the most profitable for the book ever. For them, that must have been such a relief. The public had one of the best seasons in betting history this season, taking the books for millions week after week, but I would reckon that they probably got a lot of those losses back on this single game with the handle it demanded.
He did note that the public cashed on the side of the game, with 60% of the tickets and 56% of the handle on the Eagles to win the game. In fact, they had an $800,000 ticket on Eagles ML that they had to pay out, and a $300,000 bet on Eagles +0.5 in the first half. Despite those bets, they still made a ton of money on the game as he notes, mostly due to player props. There was a ton of money backing superstars Saquon Barkley and Travis Kelce, and both of them had very underwhelming games.
Barkley didn’t even manage 50 rushing yards when his line was set at 110.5, as the Chiefs seemed like they sold out to take him out of the game and force QB Jalen Hurts to beat them. Mahomes was under pressure constantly, and most of his yards passing were in garbage time. Kelce was virtually a non-factor in the game, and looked slow. The books were happy to see both of those happen, and cashed in large because of it.
I’ll be curious to see if Super Bowl LX in 2026 will break the record again, as I expect at least a few more states to legalize sports gambling within the next year. The more people you give an opportunity to bet, the more money will come in, and it should be absolute cinema at BetMGM when all 50 states legalize it.
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