Survey: $6.8 billion could be bet on Super Bowl

This year, approximately 26 million Americans -- more than one in 10 adults -- may combine to bet an estimated $6.8 billion on Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, according to survey results released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association.

The AGA, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group that represents the casino industry, estimates 3 million more American adults will have something riding on this year's Super Bowl than last year's game, either through the expanding legal sports betting market, illegal bookmakers or more casually with friends and squares pools.

This will be the second Super Bowl since a 2018 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court opened a path for states to regulate sports betting. Fourteen states now have legal sportsbooks, six more than ahead of last year's Super Bowl. Several more states are gearing up to open sportsbooks in 2020.

"Americans have never before had so many opportunities to wager on the Super Bowl in a safe and legal manner, and clearly, they are getting in on the action," Bill Miller, president and CEO of the AGA, said in a statement announcing the survey results.

A national sample of 2,200 adults participated in the AGA survey, which was conducted Jan. 21-22 by Morning Consult, a global technology company.

The survey results indicate that bettors are divided on which team will win Sunday's game: 52% picked the Chiefs, while 48% took the 49ers. The Chiefs are consensus 1-point favorites over the 49ers.

More than $2.5 billion has been bet on the Super Bowl at Nevada sportsbooks since 1991, the first year state gaming control tracked the betting action on the game. The state's sportsbooks have suffered a net loss on the game only twice in the last 28 years.

Sportsbook operator DraftKings also released results from a national survey Tuesday, examining Americas' betting habits on the Super Bowl. The survey results indicated that squares pools are Americans' favorite way to bet on the Super Bowl and that a plurality of 30% of bettors will risk from $25-$50 on the game.