The Eagles Were the First Super Bowl Team From a Legal Sports Betting State. How Did Operators Do?
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The Kansas City Chiefs and their fans weren't the only ones partying on Wednesday — so too were sportsbook operators in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania sportsbooks kept a whopping 35.2% of all money wagered within its state on the Super Bowl, an all-time hold percentage record for the big game.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported on Wednesday afternoon that $84.3 million was wagered on the Super Bowl and sportsbooks kept $29.7 million after payouts.
That hold percentage is owed to the fact that the Eagles were the first team from a legal sports betting state to play in the Super Bowl since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling permitted wagering on sports throughout the country.
Of course, the majority of the bets in PA fell heavily on the Eagles. Philly closed as 1.5 point favorites and lost to Kansas City 38-35.
How wild is the 35.2% hold percentage?
Last year, Pennsylvania took in $68 million in Super Bowl wagers and only netted $4.5 million for a hold percentage of 6.7%. That's still a healthy hold percentage. For reference, Nevada only netted $5.3 million on over $153 million in bets in this year's game, good for a 3.5% hold.
And Nevada's record hold percentage in the Super Bowl was just 17%, when it earned that figure after the Patriots beat the Eagles in 2005.
The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, which ushered in legalized betting on Sept. 1, had not yet reported Super Bowl numbers on Wednesday. Sports betting is not operational in Missouri.
Of the $84.3 million that was wagered in Pennsylvania, 87.7% of the money bet was placed on mobile.
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