Super Bowl 2023: Arizona is 1st host with legal sports betting, then comes Las Vegas
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mike Dickens is showing off a pristine 17,000-square foot, two-story building that recently sprang up in the parking lot of State Farm Stadium.
There's the lawn area right outside where fans tailgate. And you can see not far away where Fox is setting up to hold its Super Bowl LVII pregame show for Sunday. About 500 or so yards to the east is State Farm Stadium, decorated to host the Super Bowl.
The building Dickens is giving a tour of is a BetMGM sportsbook, and he's the manager of it. It's the first sportsbook at an NFL stadium.
On Super Bowl Sunday it should be packed in the BetMGM sportsbook, which is walking distance from the game itself.
"It’s going to be very hectic," Dickens said. "We have all hands on deck; we’ll be ready to go."
Arizona is the first Super Bowl host with statewide legal sports betting. There are signs of the gambling boom everywhere. A sportsbook is attached to the Footprint Center, the Phoenix Suns' arena that hosted Super Bowl "Opening Night." At nearby Chase Field, the Arizona Diamondbacks' home, there is a sportsbook just outside the stadium, similar to the setup at State Farm Stadium. There were at least three large broadcasting booths for sportsbooks inside radio row at the Super Bowl media center, which is usually reserved for traditional outlets. Then there's a striking booth just outside radio row for the host committee of the 2024 Super Bowl venue: Las Vegas.
Sports betting takes off in Arizona
Betting on the Super Bowl is nothing new, but the way in which it is being embraced is a huge change.
On Sunday, fans will be able to sit inside State Farm Stadium watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles and use in-game betting from one of the 17 operators in Arizona to place wagers on the game as it happens in front of them. We shouldn't act like that has never happened at a Super Bowl, but this is the first time it will be on a legal site.
Arizona has fully embraced sports betting since sportsbooks could start taking bets in September 2021. The Arizona Department of Gaming reported that $617 million was bet on sports in November 2022. That's a 32.2% increase from November 2021. It was the second straight month with more than $600 million in bets.
Arizona has established itself as a top-10 state for sports betting handle.
"We're seeing increases," said Max Hartgraves, the public information officer for the Arizona Department of Gaming. "That's typical when you look across the country."
And now Arizona hosts a Super Bowl, with a huge number of out-of-state fans coming into the state and possibly looking to place some bets.
"We're looking forward to seeing how the Super Bowl affects the figures," Hartgraves said.
Super Bowl Sunday is a betting holiday
On most gamedays, Dickens knows what to expect. The BetMGM sportsbook opens at 7 a.m., though it will be closer to 9:30 a.m. Sunday for the later kickoff. He'll watch all of the fans come in and set up their tailgates next door. Then they want to get in their bets.
"They all trickle in," Dickens said.
Dickens said there will be nine ticket writers working on Sunday, and almost 20 betting kiosks will be ready. Fans can use the apps to bet on the Super Bowl or anything else, but there's a reason the sportsbook is always busy on gameday. Dickens said he has a big bettor who likes the human interaction, or handing over the money and getting a ticket back. Many bettors like that.
"A lot of people come in here because they like the social aspect of it," Dickens said. "They sit at the bar, TVs everywhere, they’ll hang out and watch the game, make a couple wagers and hang out with their buddies."
It will be different this Sunday, because security is tight around the stadium. Only fans with tickets will be allowed on the grounds. But Dickens still anticipates there will be a line out the door of fans looking to get a bet in before walking to the stadium.
"It hasn’t dawned on me how big of a deal it actually is, until you see everyone here and all the security," Dickens said. "It hasn’t hit me yet."
And then comes a huge milestone in the awkward yet growing relationship between the NFL and legal sports betting, when the Super Bowl comes to Las Vegas. Arizona is a thriving market for legal sports betting but it isn't widely known as such. Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world and that will be a huge story leading up to the 2024 Super Bowl.
"I think I'd be making a mistake underestimating anything that happens in Vegas and how big it can be," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at his annual Super Bowl week news conference.
