- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008
The largest reported bet on Super Bowl LV so far is on the underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Thursday night, a bettor in Nevada placed a $2.3 million wager on the Bucs +3.5 (-115) with sportsbook BetMGM. If Tampa Bay covers the spread against the Kansas City Chiefs, the bettor would win a net $2 million.
According to company spokesperson Elisa Richardson, the bet was placed on BetMGM’s mobile app and is the largest Super Bowl wager any U.S. sportsbook had reported as of Friday morning.
With the bulk of the early action having been on the favored Chiefs, the big wager on the Buccaneers was a welcome sight for BetMGM.
“This was a bet we were very happy to receive,” Jason Scott, vice president of trading for BetMGM, told ESPN. “We had previously written several other six-figure bets, all on Kansas City, and the public is certainly behind Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.”
The Chiefs remained consensus 3-point favorites and were attracting 74% of the point-spread bets at Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill. The two largest Super Bowl bets William Hill had taken as of Friday were both on the Chiefs: $120,000 on Kansas City -3 (-120), and a $95,000 money-line bet on the Chiefs at -165 odds that would pay a net $57,575.
FanDuel and DraftKings also reported lopsided action on the Chiefs, with greater than 75% of the early money backing the defending champions at each sportsbook.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be bet on the Super Bowl with U.S. sportsbooks, including a handful of seven-figure wagers that regularly show up on the big game each year. The million-dollar bets typically are placed by casino VIPs, high-rollers who are grated extended betting limits. Sportsbooks don’t regularly offer seven-figure bets to professional bettors or the average customer coming off the street.
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