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Will the Chiefs win a fourth Super Bowl in six years, or can the Eagles avenge their loss at Super Bowl LVII?

The gambling industry predicts $1.39 billion will be bet legally on this year's Super Bowl — and the Philadelphia Eagles are the more popular choice among gamblers to win the game.

The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry's national trade group, released its annual projection Tuesday of betting on the NFL's championship game.

But this year, for the first time, the group stuck solely to predicting bets made legally with casino or online sportsbooks. In years past, it tried to factor in estimates of illegal gambling with offshore websites, local bookies and casual bets among friends such as office pools.

"No single event unites sports fans like the Super Bowl, and that excitement extends to sports betting, with this year’s record legal handle reflecting its widespread appeal," said Bill Miller, the association's president and CEO. "This figure underscores the positive impact of the legal market, from protecting consumers to generating tax revenue that benefits communities across the country, while enhancing the game experience for all.”

The group did not give a breakdown of betting on the two participating teams as it had in past years. 

But a Press of Atlantic City survey of major nationwide sportsbooks showed more people are betting on the Eagles to avenge their 2023 loss to the Chiefs in the title game than on the Kansas City Chiefs to win a third straight Super Bowl.

Among people placing a moneyline bet with FanDuel — that is, a bet on which team will win the game, regardless of the score — 59% are backing the Eagles, although the total amount of money wagered is almost equally split between the two teams.

FanDuel bettors wagering on the point spread, in which Kansas City is favored by 1.5 points, are backing the Chiefs with 57% of total bets, and 55% of the total amount of money wagered.

The Eagles winning the game outright is the most popular bet at BetMGM, which reports 63% of bets, and 60% of the total amount of money wagers are on Philadelphia.

As far as the spread, 54% of all BetMGM bets were on the Chiefs to cover, but 53% of the total amount of money wagered was on the Eagles to cover.

At Caesars Sportsbook, 53% of moneyline bets are on Philadelphia, but 55% of the total amount of money wagered is on the Chiefs.

“We have seen relatively split action between these two teams," said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook.  

"In recent days, we have seen sharper action coming in on the Eagles both moneyline and spread that caused the line to move down from Chiefs -1.5 to Chiefs -1," he said. "We expect to see more two-way action leading up to the game, and expect some large wagers to come on both sides, as this will be a hard-fought game between the two best teams in the NFL."

DraftKings says the Eagles have 55% of the moneyline bets, and 54% of the total money bet on the moneyline. The sportsbook says 22% of gamblers betting on the game's most valuable player chose Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, followed by 10% on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

At BetRivers, the Eagles are backed by 58% of the moneyline tickets. And 60% of the total amount bet on the point spread and 66% of total bets on the point spread favor the Birds.

Similarly, BetRivers bettors in Pennsylvania are nearly twice as likely to put money on Barkley scoring a touchdown (15%) than bettors in the other 14 states where the sportsbook operates.

The $1.39 billion estimate would represent an increase of about 11% from what was bet legally on last year's Super Bowl, according to the gambling analytics firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.

That firm put a slightly higher total on this year's legal betting on the Big Game, placing it at $1.5 billion. 

The AGA says New York should generate the largest amount of money wagered on the game at over $211 million, followed by Nevada at $156 million, Illinois at $130 million and New Jersey at nearly $117 million.

Other state predictions include Pennsylvania at nearly $74 million, Virginia at $68 million, Arizona at $67 million, North Carolina at $51 million, Indiana at $49 million, Iowa at $25.5 million, Oregon at $8.6 million, Wyoming at $1.8 million, Montana at $502,000, Nebraska at $167,000 and South Dakota at $73,000.

Contact Wayne Parry:

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