Football season is the peak for sports betting
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When it comes to legalized sports gambling, there's football, and then there's everything else.
Why it matters: While the percentages can vary wildly, each of the 38 states (and D.C.) that have legalized sports betting receive some level of tax revenue on their residents' gambling.
- Good teams generally spur more bets than bad ones, meaning localities have never been more financially invested in their teams' success.
The big picture: Americans tend to wager far more money during the NFL and college football seasons than during other periods of the year, an Axios review of a dozen states' betting data finds.
- Most follow the same trend — a boost during the fall months and a peak during football playoff season, then a dip during the summer.
The latest: This Sunday's Super Bowl LIX is a rematch between two teams with different state laws. Sports gambling was legalized in Missouri late last year, but the permitting process is still playing out and sportsbooks aren't live yet.
- Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has had legal online sports gambling since 2019 and its betting predictably spikes each winter.
- When these two teams played in Super Bowl LVII in February 2023, Pennsylvania made over $14 million on $600 million wagered that month.
Stunning stat: The American Gaming Association estimates Americans will wager $1.39 billion on the Super Bowl this year.
Between the lines: State leaders are increasingly taking advantage of the sports betting windfall.
- Illinois raised its tax on sportsbooks last year, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants to do the same to raise funds for stadium repairs.
What's next: Given the tax upside, expect the holdouts to consider their own piece of the action soon.
