Here’s everything you need to know about betting on the Super Bowl legally

By Weston Blasi

The Super Bowl LV matchup is set and the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face off on Feb. 7, 2021.

PlayUSA , a website that covers legalized gambling, estimates that over $500 million will be legally wagered in the U.S. at this year’s Super Bowl, compared with just $300 million wagered in 2020.

There are two likely reasons for this surge. The first is that sports betting has never been more popular in the U.S. as states set monthly records in total bets with regularity. The second is more states are legalizing online betting — seven states accepted their first online bets in 2020 , bringing the total number of states with online gambling up to 15.

States with high populations like Illinois, Virginia and Michigan were among the states that legalized online sports betting.

For first-time bettors or those unfamiliar with the intricacies of oddsmaking, here’s how to legally bet on this year’s Super Bowl:

Verify sports betting is legal in your state:

When the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Ameteur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, it gave individual states legislative power to legalize sports betting.

Each state has its own set of rules. Some allow only in-person betting, while others also accept online and mobile wagers.

For example, sports betting is legal in New York, but only at four retail casinos in upstate New York. In Virginia, there is a bill that restricts bets on hometown college teams, and in Mississippi you can bet online, but only when inside a casino.

Interested bettors can verify if sports betting is legal in their state here .

Find a legal provider in your state

If sports betting is legal in your state, bettors can then travel to an in-person retail casino where bets are permitted, or simply find an online casino.

Some of the biggest providers include DraftKings /zigman2/quotes/213120645/composite DKNG +0.87% , William Hill /zigman2/quotes/209670313/delayed WIMHY +0.93% , Penn National’s Barstool Sports /zigman2/quotes/209264611/composite PENN -0.77% , BetMGM /zigman2/quotes/209932643/composite MGM +1.44% , Wynn /zigman2/quotes/208845907/composite WYNN -0.50% and FanDuel .

In states where both in-person and online betting is available, online betting typically makes up a massive portion of all money wagered.

In New Jersey, which frequently has the most money wagered on sports of any state in the U.S., about 90% of all bets are made online, according to public data.

Additionally, living in the state is not a requirement. You just have to be at least 21 years old and be within the state when placing an online bet. Location is determined by GPS on the betting device.

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