Nevada Sportsbooks Report Record Super Bowl Handle, Mediocre Hold

Nevada sportsbooks saw more betting action than ever on Super Bowl LVIII. According to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state’s nearly 200 sportsbooks took $185.6 million in bets on the Super Bowl, resulting in the books winning $6.8 million, for a middling 3.7% hold. 

And that includes a $1 million losing bet on the 49ers from blowhard poker player and gambling tout Sean Perry. 

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the 2-point-favorite San Francisco 49ers, 25-22. The over/under was 47.5.

Here are NGCB's numbers for the past 10 years of Super Bowl betting in Nevada:

Thin Sportsbook Margins

The previous record was $179.8 million, set in 2022 when the Los Angeles Rams topped the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in LA. That year, the books in Nevada won $11 million on a 6.2% hold.

Last year saw Nevada sportsbooks holding just 3.6% of $153.2 million wagered on Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix, where the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.

The less-than-earth-shattering hold is a reminder of just how thin sportsbooks’ margins can be. While totals are still rolling in from casino sportsbooks and betting apps around the United States and world, the Super Bowl does not provide a guaranteed win for the house, particularly when a more heavily bet on underdog wins. 

Huge Numbers Nationwide

One of the bets that lost big for the house was overtime, which paid 9/1 at most books. It was only the second time in history that a game was settled in OT. (The other was Super Bowl LI, when the New England Patriots bested the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in 2017.)

Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, told the Nevada Independent that Caesars took a 7-figure bath on the overtime bet, even when the average wager was only $16.

Caesars did find a saving grace, Mucklow said, on the player props, many of which did not pan out as bettors had hoped. 

Location technology supplier Geocomply on Monday reported some 14,750 verification checks per second in the moments before kickoff. That volume set a record for the company, nearly doubling their previous high, set in 2022. 

In the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl, the Vancouver-based company recorded nearly 1.8 million new user signups for legal online betting. 

Curiously, both teams in Super Bowl LVIII hailed from two of just 12 states in the US without some form of legal sports betting. 

(Image: Gregory Bull / AP / Alamy)