KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Regardless of who wins Super Bowl LIV on the field, Iowa is going to be the big winner.
It’s been 20 months since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports gambling.
So far, Missouri and Kansas have failed to enact changes at the state level to bring sports betting — and the revenue it would generate — to the Kansas City area.
That could mean a huge windfall for Iowa, which is the only state in the Midwest to have acted swiftly to legalize sports gambling.
Iowa expects Super Bowl LIV, which is set for Sunday between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Miami, to produce the biggest single-day wagering total since the state legalized sports betting last August.
There have been proposals, which would legalize sports betting in both Kansas and Missouri, but none have made it through the state legislatures.
Hundreds of millions of dollars will be wagered on the Super Bowl, according to ESPN.
According to data from the American Gaming Association, 26 million U.S. residents are expected to wager $6.8 bullion on the game. The estimate, which represents more than one in 10 of all U.S. adults, would be a record and 3 million more people than bet on the game last season.
The Chiefs are currently 1-point favorites, according to Caesar’s Sportsbook.
According to an article by Yahoo Sports, roughly 80% of the money wagered so far at MGM Resorts International has been on the Chiefs.
