But the Super Bowl is a different entity entirely, as close to holy as secular America gets. So it’ll hit differently when overhead shots of the stadium show scattered pockets of diehards. A totals bet is a wager on the cumulative number of points scored in the Super Bowl. The sportsbook sets a line on how many points it believes will be scored. If you think more points will be scored, you bet the over. If you think fewer, you bet the under.

See All Guides

1. Super Bowl prop bets work in such a way that you don’t need to wager on the end result of the NFL Championship, but rather on an individual athlete or a particular event within the big game. Super Bowl props are essentially wagers on anything related to the Championship game that’s separate from a point spread, total, or moneyline.
2. Different Ways You Can Bet on the Super Bowl The Super Bowl isn’t just the No. 1 sporting event of the year for the NFL Season – it’s the biggest thing on television, period. Of the Top 20-ranked broadcasts of all-time in the United States, 19 are Super Bowls – the 1983 finale of M.A.S.H is the only exception.

Against the spread betting (commonly abbreviated as ATS) is probably the most common type of football betting. In Super Bowl 55, the Chiefs are three point favorites over the Buccaneers. On paper, this is written out as “Chiefs (-3)” or “Buccaneers (+3)”.

Looking for the easiest Super Bowl 55 bets? You’ve come to the right place.

Betting on the Super Bowl is one of the best places to begin betting on football. There are many different types of wagers available, making it a great opportunity to get the lay of the full betting landscape with a single event.

We won’t let you wander into the football betting wilderness alone, of course. We’ve developed this handy Super Bowl betting guide to help you get acquainted with NFL betting odds, generally, and lay some simple wagers on Super Bowl 55.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay on February 7, 2021. Now that the match-up is set, we can use some concrete examples to make things clearer.

But first things first. Let’s start with some classification.

Types of Bets

Every football bet can be classified in one of three categories: moneyline, against the spread, and over/under.

1. Moneyline Betting

Betting on the moneyline is the easiest Super Bowl bet you can make. Quite simply, you bet on which team will win the game “straight up.” You don’t have to worry about margin of victory. If the team you bet on wins, you win your bet!

Current Super Bowl 55 Moneyline Odds

You might be saying to yourself: “That’s very simple. Why doesn’t everyone bet on the moneyline?”

Because the payout is lower if you bet on the favorite, and you don’t get the advantage of the spread if you bet on the underdog. Sportsbooks aren’t going to reward you the same way for picking a massive favorite to win. They will, however, reward you handsomely if you correctly pick an underdog.

Let’s use this year’s Super Bowl as an example again.

The Chiefs’ moneyline is -180 at the moment. (Hey, that style of number looks familiar!) That -180 number indicates that, if you bet Kansas City to win, you have to wager $180 to win $100 for a total payout of $280. The Buccaneers’ moneyline, on the other hand, is +152.

The plus-sign changes everything! When preceded by a plus-sign, the moneyline indicates how much you’ll get back if you bet $100.

So, if you wager $100 on Tampa Bay at +152 and they upset the Chiefs (by whatever score), you’ll walk away with $252 — your original $100 bet plus $152. (For all intents and purposes, the favorite is always listed at a negative number and the underdog at a positive number.)

You don’t have to wager $100, of course. You can wager any amount (though sportsbooks do have upper and lower limits). If you cut your bet in half and put $50 on the Bucs +152, you’d go home with $126 if they win — your original $50 bet plus $76 (i.e. half of $152).

2. Against the Spread

Against the spread betting (commonly abbreviated as ATS) is probably the most common type of football betting. In Super Bowl 55, the Chiefs are three point favorites over the Buccaneers. On paper, this is written out as “Chiefs (-3)” or “Buccaneers (+3)”. The three point spread means that, if you bet on the Chiefs (-3), you only win your bet if the Chiefs win by four points or more. If the Chiefs win 25-23, for example, you’re outta luck.

The flip side is that if you bet on the Buccaneers (+3), you’ll still win your bet even if the game is a tie.

If the Chiefs win by exactly three points, it’s called a “push,” and both sides get their money back.

Simple enough, right?

Bettors are often confused to see the spread change a couple of days after they’ve placed a bet. If a lot of money is being wagered on one team compared to the other, sportsbooks will shift the spread to encourage equal betting on both sides and reduce their potential for loss.

This happened just before Super Bowl 53 in 2019. When the betting lines first opened, the LA Rams were a small favorite. But so much money was immediately bet on the New England Patriots that the spread shifted all the way to Patriots (-3).

These changes do not impact any bets that have already been placed.

The payout on spread betting is typically $1 for every $1.10 you wager, but can vary within a range. You’ll often see the payout listed as “-110,” which indicates that you must bet $110 to win $100.

Use the same approach outlined above for moneyline bets to calculate your payout when betting against the spread.

3. Over/Under Betting

Over/under betting (O/U) differs considerably from spread and moneyline betting in that it doesn’t involve picking the winner. The most common over/under bet is the game total, which involves predicting the total number of points that will be scored in the game.

As of January 25, 2021, the total for Super Bowl 55 is 56.5. Bettors can opt that the game will feature more than 56.5 points (taking the over) or fewer than 56.5 points (taking the under).

If you bet the over and the Chiefs win 33-25, you win your bet since the teams combined for 58 points. (That’s more than 56.5.) If the Chiefs win 30-22, you lose everything, since the total score of 52 is less than the total set beforehand by the sportsbooks.

Like with ATS betting, the game total can and will shift over time, depending on which side is receiving the majority of the money wagered. Pushes are also possible when betting the game total. Obviously, a push can only occur when the total is not a half number.

Just like the spread, O/Us have odds specific to each side of the line, meaning the payout isn’t always equal between the over and the under. As long as the action coming in on each side is roughly even, you’re likely to see odds of -110 on the Super Bowl totals line (bet $1.10 to win $1).

Super Bowl Props

The wager types discussed so far focus on the outcome of the game itself. The Super Bowl, however, is just as famous for its litany of prop bets. Some of these Super Bowl props can be downright bizarre, and many have nothing to do with football.

Prop bets feature any interesting propositions the sportsbooks can think of.

Prop bets touch on almost every aspect of the Super Bowl, from which team will win the opening coin toss to which player will score the first touchdown. Many of them focus on the performance of individual players. For example, who will have the most receiving yards? And how many yards will Patrick Mahomes throw for? Will Mahomes have more touchdowns than Brady?

The really fun ones have almost nothing to do with the game. Here are a few favorites from this year’s props:

• Will Bill Belichick be mentioned at least once?
• Will Blinding Lights be the first song played by The Weeknd at halftime?
• Will Tom Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen, be shown on TV more than 1.5 times?
• The color of the Gatorade poured on the winning head coach (orange is the favorite). Historical reference here.

Props can be constructed as moneyline or over under-style bets. Let’s look at a couple of examples to clarify.

“Who will score the first touchdown?” is a moneyline-style prop bet. Travis Kelce is currently the favorite at +600. (Remember what that plus-sign means? If you bet $100 on Kelce and he does score the first TD in the game, you’ll win $600.)

“How many songs will be played during the halftime show?” is an over/under style prop. The O/U is at 8. If seven songs are performed in total, the under will cash in. If nine lovely tunes are sung, the over wins. For a full guide on Super Bowl prop bets, be sure to check out this comprehensive guide.

Where Can I Bet on the Super Bowl?

Go look at your finances and see if you have some disposable income. If things are looking good, it’s time to explore this list for the best places to bet on NFL games online , and get in on the action!

Super Bowl LV promised an epic battle between two of the most dynamic and accomplished quarterbacks in the league, but ultimately, it was the cagey 21-year veteran that emerged from the clash with his record seventh championship ring. Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over in a 31-9 victory that also featured an efficient effort from Leonard Fournette and a suffocating performance by the Buccaneers defense that neutered a normally high-octane Chiefs attack.

The unexpectedly lopsided win for Tampa Bay on its home field capped off a unique 2020 NFL season that managed to navigate a highly challenging public health crisis. The league will now mostly step back from the spotlight over the next several months – save for brief interludes such as free agency and the NFL Draft – until training camps hopefully kick off in late July.

As was the case throughout the past season, this page will once again serve as a hub of NFL betting-related information each week throughout the 2021 NFL season and postseason. That will include the latest odds from leading regulated sportsbooks for every game, as well as a detailed betting breakdown for each contest.

The Big Game’s final gun doesn’t equate to an absence of betting opportunities, however. The sun never sets in the NFL betting landscape. Accordingly, there are 2022 Super Bowl Champion futures available at all regulated sportsbooks. Despite Sunday’s defeat, the Chiefs, just like after their Super Bowl LIV win over the 49ers, open as the odds-on favorite (+490) at FanDuel Sportsbook. The newly crowned champions interestingly open in a three-way tie with the Bills and Packers at +1100, although all signs point to a Brady return in 2021.

Super Bowl odds 2022

Here is a look at Super Bowl LVI odds from the top US sportsbooks.

Where to bet Super Bowl 2022

Futures Report

Odds listed below are from DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Favorites

Kansas City Chiefs (+550): This will be a learning experience for Patrick Mahomes, who clearly played hurt and was consistently pressured in another loss to Tom Brady on the grand stage. The Chiefs are the most dangerous team in football and an off night in Tampa won’t change that heading into the 2021-22 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+900): Tom Brady put the closing arguments on his air-tight case as the greatest winner in NFL history by taking a listless Bucs franchise to the promised land in his age 43 season. Tampa’s defense is truly elite and Brady can run it back with all the weapons around him.

Green Bay Packers (+900): Aaron Rodgers will likely return and the reigning MVP should have demands from the Packers front office to ensure he has enough weapons for one more run at a second Super Bowl title.

Buffalo Bills (+1200): Josh Allen is on a trajectory to become the chief rival for Patrick Mahomes over the next decade and he has a superstar running mate in Stefon Diggs.

Los Angeles Rams (+1200): The Rams pulled off the first ever trade of No. 1 overall draft picks and brought back Matt Stafford to quarterback and otherwise loaded team. Stafford is simply far more gifted than Jared Goff and he should help Sean McVay’s offense yet another level while Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey anchor the Rams elite defense.

Baltimore Ravens (+1200): The passing game hasn’t clicked with Lamar Jackson at the controls and that has led to some relatively quiet playoff departures for the Ravens the past two years. Things could go much differently for Baltimore this year if their season isn’t upended by COVID.

The Contenders

San Francisco 49ers (+1400): Midway through last season the Niners had nearly $80M in cap space on I.R. with Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Raheem Mostert, Richard Sherman, and Solomon Thomas all missing huge chunks of time. Kyle Shanahan’s squad could certainly contend if they keep those guys healthy next year.

New Orleans Saints (+1700): It seems the Saints window with Drew Brees has closed. Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill should eventually take up the mantle to lead a great all-around team, but neither necessarily profiles as a Super Bowl caliber QB.

Cleveland Browns (+2200): Kevin Stefanski is your Coach of the Year after leading the Browns to their first playoff win since 1994. Adding Odell Beckham Jr. (ACL) will only help Cleveland balance its elite run game.

Seattle Seahawks (+2200): In a truly head-scratching evolution, Russell Wilson went from the obvious MVP to the most maligned QB in the NFL by the end of the year. And Wilson’s struggles were just the tip of the iceberg for Seattle’s sputtering offense.

Indianapolis Colts (+2200): The Colts were on the list of teams with a pressing need at quarterback before adding Carson Wentz in a February trade. Will he revert to the Wentz of old as he’s reunited with Frank Reich? We’ll see.

Tennessee Titans (+2800): The Titans need a ton of help on the defensive side of the ball and are in danger of losing more key contributors this offseason. Derrick Henry can only dominate when complemented by a tough defense.

Dallas Cowboys (+3000): Clearly the Cowboys are playing in a weak division and they are absolutely loaded with Dak Prescott under center. Their early-season struggles with Dak under center were more fluke than trend.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+3000): Ben Roethlisberger is running it back with a chance for redemption if the Steelers can find a way to establish some consistency with their ground game. Pittsburgh’s top-rated defense and Mike Tomlin’s experience will always give this team a chance late into the winter.

The Underdogs

Miami Dolphins (+2500): With the second-youngest roster in the NFL, the Dolphins are likely a couple of years away from contending. It remains to be seen if Tua Tagovailoa might be the QB that eventually takes them to the next level.

Los Angeles Chargers (+2800): Switch Justin Herbert with Tua right now and the Dolphins are almost certainly in the conversation with The Contenders. Herbert is a lock for stardom and the Chargers defense gets much healthier this year, making this a dream spot for new coach Brandon Staley.

New England Patriots (+3000): Even Bill Belichick can’t make lemonade out of the lemons he was served last season when the Patriots had a league-high 8 players opt out due to COVID last year. He won’t coach his team to success without a legit starting QB either.

Minnesota Vikings (+4000): When Dalvin Cook was healthy last year and Justin Jefferson had come on, the Vikings offense became a nightmarish matchup. And their young secondary will continue to improve next year under Mike Zimmer.

Arizona Cardinals (+5000): Kyler Murray must become a better pocket passer to keep defenses from playing him to run. With a defense that ranked top 10 in many metrics, the Cardinals should push their way into the playoffs next year.

Chicago Bears (+5000): The Bears should be at the front of the line offering a bevvy of draft picks for Deshaun Watson should he become available. They might not make enough of a bid, out of hubris, but they aren’t going anywhere with Mitchell Trubisky or Nick Foles.

Philadelphia Eagles (+5000): Jalen Hurts is simply a winner and the Eagles will find it easy to turn the page under new coach Nick Sirianni.

The Longshots

Carolina Panthers (+4500): Any team that is competitive without Christian McCaffrey is capable of finishing above .500 with an MVP candidate in the backfield.

Atlanta Falcons (+5000): Shame on this franchise for dropping Raheem Morris after he turned their bottom 5 defense into the No. 12 unit in Weighted DVOA (per Football Outsiders) by the end of the season.

Las Vegas Raiders (+5000): There were flashes from the Raiders last season, including a win and close loss to the Chiefs, but they showed little discipline under Jon Gruden. They could serve as another exciting destination for Deshaun Watson.

Denver Broncos (+6000): John Elway is still looking for his franchise QB, but the Broncos should have one of the past rushes in the game with Von Miller (Achilles) set to return opposite Bradley Chubb.

Washington Football Team (+6000): Regardless of who is playing QB, Washington’s front office will have to work some magic to maintain a solid supporting cast with 19 players set to hit free agency this March.

New York Giants (+6600): Joe Judge looks like he will be part of the bountiful branch of Belichick’s coaching tree. The Giants can keep overachieving defensively and Saquon Barkley can carry an offense.

Cincinnati Bengals (+6600): Joe Burrow (ACL) gives this listless franchise some hope, but they need a lot of pieces to contend, especially some upgrades on the offensive line.

New York Jets (+6600): Robert Saleh doesn’t enter an enviable situation given the state of the Jets roster prior to free agency. Yet that could change if the franchise invests their $45M in cap space wisely.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+8000): Ever wonder how an elite college team would fare against the pros? Next year’s Jaguars will be a close comparison with Urban Meyer coaching Trevor Lawrence and a young roster.

Houston Texans (+10000): The Texans are becoming lepers in the football community given how laughably bad their trade of DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson has turned out and how they’ve treated their franchise QB in the wake of that gaff.

Detroit Lions (+10000): Moving from L.A. to Detroit and from Sean McVay to Dan Campbell is going to seriously test Jared Goff.

Super Bowl odds 2022: Opening odds vs. current

Super Bowl odds shown below are from DraftKings Sportsbook.

How to bet Super Bowl futures

Futures bets

Futures bets are a great way for diehard sports fans to get themselves a little more involved in the upcoming success of their favorite teams and/or players. They can also be a good way for the maligned hometown fan to shift focus a little bit and worry more about the success (or failure) of rival teams.

Fans can put their prediction skills to the test by placing wagers on things such as the Super Bowl LVI champion, division and conference winners, win totals for each team, and individual player awards such as MVP and Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.

Additionally, many books offer over/under lines on certain yardage or touchdown numbers for specific players or head-to-head options between two stars of a shared position. These are often referred to as “specials.”

Odds on certain futures will often be updated throughout the offseason as players change teams or suffer injuries. Once the season starts, odds can change wildly based on injuries, and fast or slow starts with bettors having to know the difference between pretenders and contenders.

There’s nothing like placing a wager on a longshot early in the offseason and watching the year play out in their, and your, favor. It can be ill-advised to bet on a favorite in the offseason with so much time for things to go against them.

All online sportsbooks come in slightly different layouts, but futures sections are typically in the same general area.

Different Ways To Bet On The Super Bowl Won

Simply click the “NFL” or “Pro Football” tab on your book of choice. The default screen is generally the Week 1 schedule with all 16 games listed, but in a dropdown menu or separate menu bar, there should be several other options, including futures and specials.

Peruse these sections at your whim, looking for the teams, players, or odds which matter most to you. A wager such as Super Bowl Champions or MVP will have money options listed, whether it be all 32 teams or 30-50 of the league’s biggest stars. Each option will have odds listed next to it.

Betting Super Bowl odds on the Kansas City Chiefs to repeat as champions at +550 means a $100 wager returns $550. A safer bet such as the Chiefs to win the AFC West comes with diminished -500 odds.

Win totals and player specials typically come in the form of over/unders on a number set by the sportsbook. Each side of the bet will have odds for any result coming in above or below the line.

Super Bowl odds: Other ways to bet

Point Spread

The point spread will be one of the most popular methods of placing a wager on Super Bowl LVI. The point spread is the projected margin of victory set by oddsmakers for the favored team. If a bettor wagers on the favorite to “cover” the point spread, the favorite must not only emerge victorious, but must do so by more than the point spread for the bet to be a winner. If the favorite wins the game but does so by less than the spread – or if it loses the game altogether – the bettor will have lost his/her money wagered.

Moneyline

A moneyline wager is a bet on which team will win the game outright, regardless of margin. A moneyline wager is essentially the same type of bet that has been placed among family and friends for decades. When placed with a sportsbook, a moneyline wager pays winning bets based on the odds attached to the wager.

For example, a moneyline wager on the favorite may carry odds of “-110”, meaning a bettor wins $100 for every $110 wagered. Conversely, a moneyline wager on the underdog may carry odds of “+112”, meaning a bettor wins $112 for every $100 bet.

Total (over/under)

A totals wager is one that hinges on whether the bettor correctly bet the game’s combined final score would finish over or under the number projected by the sportsbook at the time of the wager. For example, say Super Bowl odds carry a projected total of 49 points. If one wagers the “under” on that figure and the game finishes with a 30-21 final score, the bet is a losing one, since the combined total of that score is 51 points. However, if the game instead finishes 24-21 – a combined score of 45 – then that bet would be a winner.

Player Prop Bets

Player Prop bets are wagers that are based on whether the individual player that’s the subject of the bet falls short of or exceeds certain statistical benchmarks. Sportsbooks typically offer an extensive array of such bets for an event of the magnitude of the Super Bowl. Player prop bets are based on the statistics usually accrued by players at different positions.

For example, a prop bet for a quarterback would be whether the player throws for less or more than 250 yards in the game. For a running back, an example would be whether the player receivers less or more than 20 carries. For a receiver, an available prop wager could be based on whether the player falls below or exceeds a certain number of receptions during the game.

Even non-skill position players such as kickers or even an entire defensive unit can be the subject of prop bets. A standard prop bet for a kicker could be based on whether the player will successfully hit more or less than a certain number of field goals, or whether they will miss an extra point. For a defense, prop bets could be based on whether that unit will give up a certain amount of points, or whether it will score a touchdown on an interception or fumble return.

Player prop bets are most often graded on full-game statistics, but there are also prop bets that are based on statistics accrued during a specific quarter or specific half of a game.

Exotic Prop Bets

Prop bets for major events such as a Super Bowl can also center on outcomes that aren’t based on traditional in-game statistics. For example, a prop bet can be placed on whether the game-opening coin toss comes up as heads or tails or which team will win the toss; the color of the Gatorade that is dumped on the winning team’s coach; and what the jersey number of one of the players who scores during the game might be.

There are even prop wagers based on the two flagship non-sports events associated with the game – the National Anthem and the halftime show. Bettors can place wagers on contingencies such as the length of time of the National Anthem, whether the performer will omit a word, whether a certain celebrity will make an unexpected appearance during the halftime festivities or how many songs will be performed by the halftime act.

Super Bowl MVP

The most prestigious individual Super Bowl-related award is that of Most Valuable Player. While any player is technically eligible for the distinction, the best odds by and far lie with the quarterback position, which has taken home 29 of the 54 MVP awards in Super Bowl history. That outpaces the next closest positions – wide receiver and running back – by 22. Five quarterbacks have won the MVP award on multiple occasions. The Patriots’ Tom Brady leads the way with four. The 49ers’ Joe Montana follows with three. Meanwhile, the Packers’ Bart Starr, the Steelers’ Terry Bradshaw and the Giants’ Eli Manning each garnered two apiece.

Even when a future Hall of Famer like Brady is on the winning side, it’s important to remember there is no such thing as a surefire bet. In the Patriots’ win over the Rams in February of 2019, receiver Julian Edelman earned MVP honors with a 10-reception, 141-yard tally.

Alternate Lines

Alternate lines are those offered by sportsbooks as secondary options to the official point spread that has been set. These lines feature an extensive array of different point spreads for both the favorite and underdog side of the game. These lines typically begin at points well above the number associated with each team in the official game line and range well into the other side of the bet, i.e. allowing for a heavy favorite to be bet as a heavy underdog and vice versa.

To cite an example from this season’s Chiefs – Bucs Super Bowl matchup, Kansas City entered the game as 3-point favorites at many sportsbooks. Alternate lines offered could have included a wagering opportunity on the Chiefs as seven-point favorites instead. Moreover, that bet would have included a very favorable “price” – the preset ratio at which the bet would pay out – due to the much lower probability of the Chiefs not only winning, but winning by more than a touchdown.

Live Betting

Live betting offers bettors the opportunity to place wagers on the point spread, moneyline or projected total of a game as odds on each fluctuate depending on the flow of a game. With a live betting option, a bettor doesn’t have to be locked into just the wagers they placed prior to the start of the game or at halftime. Rather, if, for example, the favored team unexpectedly falls behind by a two-touchdown margin in the first half, the bettor can hedge his original wager by investing in a new line with odds that reflect how the game is unfolding.

Teasers

A teaser bet is based on multiple games and enables the bettor to adjust the official point spread anywhere between four and 10 points, depending on sport. For football, the allowable range if six, 6.5 or seven points. For a teaser bet to pay out, each leg of the wager must be a winner.

An example of a teaser bet would be as follows:

• The Chiefs are teased from 7.5-point favorites over the Titans down to 1.5-favorites (six-point tease)
• The 49ers are also teased from 7.5-point favorites over the Packers to 1.5-point favorites

If both Kansas City and San Francisco win their games by at least two points, respectively, the teaser bet is a winner. The appeal of teaser bets is the ability to manipulate the spread, and in the process, significantly increase the odds of the wager being successful.

Super Bowl 56 details

Super Bowl LVI will officially kick off Sunday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET in Inglewood, California.

The game will be televised through broadcast television on NBC.

Best Super Bowl betting sites and bonuses

Legal sports betting is progressively expanding across the United States.

Bettors should particularly be aware of these sportsbooks, which all have Super Bowl odds posted:

DraftKings Sportsbook — Available in NJ, PA, IN, NH, MI, VA, IA, CO, WV, TN and IL
FanDuel Sportsbook — Available in NJ, PA, IN, MI, VA, CO, WV, TN and IL
BetMGM — Available in NJ, IN, CO, TN, MI, VA, PA, IA and WV

All three sportsbooks will have a wide selection of special offers and promotions for Super Bowl LV aimed at both first-time and existing customers.

Super Bowl betting tips and strategies

Line shopping and getting the best number

With any purchase, shopping for the best price is advisable. Sports betting is no different. The “prices” associated with sports betting are the odds attached to each wager that determine the payout if the bet is a winner. Other sportsbook-to-sportsbook variables that are important for a better to also be conscious of include possible differences in the point spread and projected total posted for a particular game.

The original lines set by oddsmakers when a game is first posted can often be the “sharpest”, i.e. most difficult to consistently beat over time. Therefore, the biggest edge can often come from waiting things out and seeing what way the betting public’s wagers move a point spread as a game draws closer. Factors such as faulty “groupthink” can sometimes alter a team’s projected advantage to the extent it creates a tangible edge for a sharp bettor.

One caveat about the Super Bowl is that no one NFL game sees its line affected more by “sharp money.” Therefore, line movement for this particular game is often the byproduct of bets placed based on an effective process more than any other during the season.

Fading the public

Different Ways To Bet On The Super Bowl Halftime

The strategy of betting against the most popular side of a bet can pay off on occasion. However, it’s not a strategy that’s necessarily advisable to be utilized with great frequency. But, as discussed in the prior section, there are certain instances when the general public’s infatuation with a certain team’s reputation (or in some cases, even certain superstar players such as Brady) can lead to a notable amount of money being wagered on that team. In turn, the line could move to a point where a team is favored by an increasingly unrealistic amount of points.

By “fading the public” in such an instance, a bettor could exploit the situation and place a winning bet on the underdog to slide in under the spread. The same could hold true for a projected total that gets bet up to a certain level due to the offensive reputations of one or both of the teams.

Using advanced metrics

While many bettors likely put only a modest amount of what could accurately be termed “research” before placing a wager, there’s certainly no shortage of metrics available to be evaluated for those who wish to avail themselves. For team-based wagers such as moneylines, point spreads and projected totals, bettors can review the history of each team’s performance in each category.

However, where advanced metrics can be particularly helpful is when making individual- or team-based prop wagers. Statistical trends can certainly help a bettor make an informed decision on whether a certain receiver is likely to exceed a certain amount of catches versus a certain opponent’s defense, for example. The same could apply to countless other such prop wagers, such as a quarterback reaching the 300-yard threshold and a running back eclipsing the 100-yard mark, to cite just two other examples.

How To Bet On The Super Bowl

A good example from last season’s Super Bowl LIV matchup between the Chiefs and 49ers involves San Francisco star tight end George Kittle. Say a sportsbook offered a prop wager on Kittle making over/under five catches. A bettor evaluating this wager might have gone with the Over when considering Kansas City faced the second-most tight end targets (141) in the league last season and tied for the third-most catches (96) allowed to the position. Kittle finished the game with four catches, just slightly under the number – a win for Under bettors.

Middling

“Middling” a game is defined as a bettor placing wagers on both sides of the contest. Football is considered the most popular sport to utilize this strategy. Because it involves placing more than one wager on a game, middling can be a strategy that’s rarely used by novice bettors. However, it ironically helps mitigate the risk involved by significantly upping the chances of one of the two bets being a winner.

Middling is typically made possible when there is notable line movement on a game within a week. Using an example from the Super Bowl LV Chiefs-Bucs matchup, hypothetically, say Kansas City opened up as a three-point favorite. A bettor initially places a wager on this line, but over the course of the two weeks, the line is bet up even further to a seven-point projected advantage for KC. That same bettor then places a bet on the Bucs +7, i.e. San Francisco to lose by six points or less or win outright.

In this example, the bettor is a winner on both bets if either:

• The Chiefs win by four points or more.
• The Bucs lose by six points or less or win outright.

Taking advantage of free bets and promotions

Different Ways To Bet On The Super Bowl Wins

Legal, regulated sportsbooks typically offer a variety of enticing promotions, for both first-time and existing customers. Those offers are even more prominent for an event the magnitude of the Super Bowl. Bettors should therefore be on the lookout for such offers as soon as the participants for Super Bowl LIV are decided in this coming weekend’s conference championship games.

Examples of special offers and promotions include:

• Risk-free bets up to a certain amount. This year, DraftKings Sportsbook offering first-time depositors up to $500 worth of risk-free bets on the game by matching a first bet up to $500. New accounts will also get $25 in free bets just for signing up — no deposit necessary!
• Special odds boosts on certain wagers.
• A variety of potential special offers involving prop bets, parlays, teasers and other bet types.

Where can I bet on the Super Bowl legally?

Those physically located within a total of 18 states will have the option of placing wagers on Super Bowl LV at a legal, regulated sportsbook. Of those jurisdictions, eight of them offer bettors the option of placing a bet through either a sportsbook’s website/mobile wagering app or its physical retail location. Another five currently only allow wagering at physical sportsbooks.

By Super Bowl LVI in February 2022, several more states should have legal sports betting options available. That number is expected to increase based on a certain amount of sports betting bills across the country gaining passage during 2021.

The following states already offer both online and retail sports betting options:

Indiana
Iowa
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Nevada
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
West Virginia
Illinois
Michigan
Colorado
Tennessee

The following states currently only offer retail sports betting options:

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Arkansas
Delaware
Mississippi
New Mexico
New York

How much money is wagered on the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is annually the most lucrative single-event sports betting opportunity. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated bets on last year’s Chiefs-49ers game would reach approximately $6.8 billion worldwide in both legal and illegal wagers.

At many sportsbooks, proposition bets constitute more than half of the wagers and amount placed for the Super Bowl. With the ongoing expansion of legalized, regulated sports wagering across the United States, the total “handle” – the cumulative amount wagered on the game – should continue to edge upward for several years based solely on the increase in legal betting opportunities for sports fans. For this year’s Super Bowl LV, those physically located within 13 states will have access to either online and/or retail sports betting (a physical sportsbook) for the big game.

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Who is favored to win the 2022 Super Bowl?

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The Kansas City Chiefs opened as the favorites for the 2021-22 season at most major sportsbooks. KC was +500 at FanDuel Sportsbook on the Monday after Super Bowl LV.