MW BetMGM, DraftKings score 'most successful' Super Bowl in history as football bettors' winning streak ends

By Weston Blasi

Sportsbooks were pulling for an Eagles win and they got it, ending one of the most 'customer-friendly' NFL seasons to date

The party is over for many NFL bettors.

After an NFL season that saw gamblers have one of their best betting years in football history, sportsbooks took back control and won big along with the Philadelphia Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday.

Super Bowl LIX was "potentially the most successful single sporting event in company history," a BetMGM spokesperson told MarketWatch.

A DraftKings Sportsbook spokesperson also told MarketWatch on Monday that they were "happy with how last night went."

For most bets, if a majority of people have wagered on something to happen at a sporting event, then the sportsbook will obviously be rooting for the opposite to happen.

So for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, which saw the Eagles dominate the Kansas City Chiefs, one of the most popular bets on the board was for Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley to score a touchdown. BetMGM, which is partly owned by MGM Resorts International $(MGM)$, told MarketWatch that more fans bet on Barkley to score a touchdown than any other player in the big game, which could have created a big liability for sportsbooks if that had played out.

But Barkley had a relatively quiet night, only getting 57 rush yards on 25 rushing attempts - and, to the delight of sportsbooks, finishing without scoring a single touchdown.

"We were satisfied with the day. It's a good result, with Saquon not scoring. We will sign for it," BetMGM senior trader Tristan Davis told VegasInsider after the game.

Representatives for DraftKings $(DKNG)$ and FanDuel also told MarketWatch that Barkley was their most wagered-on player to score a touchdown, making that a great outcome for those sportsbooks as well.

In addition, more bettors were backing the Eagles (47%) than the Chiefs (53%) on BetMGM's platforms. And while a roughly even betting split is usually good for sportsbooks due to their betting commissions on each wager, many sportsbooks, including BetMGM, were actually rooting for the Eagles.

That's mainly because a lot of fans had older "futures" bets on the Chiefs - or bets made before the Super Bowl matchup was set - at favorable odds. "Philly is a great result on the futures market," BetMGM trader Christian Cipollini told MarketWatch.

One of the most wagered-on player props was whether Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy would get over or under 5.5 rushing yards in the game. Another was over or under 52.5 receiving yards for Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert. In both instances, 99% of all bettors took the over, but the under cashed in both bets, which was another big win for the sportsbooks.

One of the main bright spots for casual bettors, however, was wagering on whether the game's point total would go over the 48.5 point line - something that FanDuel said 83% of its bettors were pushing for. The total blew past that mark and ended at 62 points after a few late touchdowns for the Chiefs late in the second half of the game, after the result had essentially been decided.

See: Here's how much money NFL stars Patrick Mahomes, Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts had at stake in Super Bowl bonuses

The success of casual NFL bettors against sportsbooks this football season led to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of losses for sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel. FanDuel's parent, Flutter $(FLUT)$ Entertainment, called the 2024 NFL season the most "customer friendly" that online sportsbooks have ever seen.

Legal bets on Super Bowl LIX were projected to surpass $1.39 billion, according to data from the American Gaming Association, the primary trade group for the U.S. casino industry. This would set a new record, exceeding last year's $1.25 billion in legal bets, as estimated by consulting firm Eilers & Krejcik.

The Super Bowl is the most bet-upon sporting event in the country, and it appears this year's big game was one for the books. According to geolocation-compliance company GeoComply, the number of active player accounts with legal sportsbooks in the U.S. during Super Bowl weekend increased by 14% compared to last year. In New Orleans, the game's host city, over 60,000 sports bettors used legal mobile sportsbooks this past weekend.

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-Weston Blasi

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February 10, 2025 12:43 ET (17:43 GMT)

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