Super Bowl Betting Frenzy in Full Swing

The amount of Super Bowl betting this year is record breaking according to the Las Vegas sportsbooks and online wagering firms.

While official numbers were yet to come in (and probably will not for US facing online bookmakers), Las Vegas gambling experts expect to see Super Bowl betting hit an all-time high with an estimated $100 million wagered on the New England Patriots clash with the New York Giants on Sunday.

That projects to a worldwide figure of about $10 billion, according to Sean Van Patten of Las Vegas Sports Consultants, who said a general rule of thumb was that the Las Vegas total represented about one percent of all wagers.

"You have a very popular team for bettors all year long in New England," Van Patten told Reuters in a telephone interview on Friday. "They've really attracted the casual recreational bettor throughout the year."

Most of the Super Bowl betting was coming in these final 24 hours leading up to the big game.  Gambling911.com Endorsed online sportsbooks were urging customers (new and current alike) to place their bets before noon on Super Bowl Sunday.

"The hours leading up to the big game gamblers may experience some slowdowns with the websites and a tough time accessing due to the huge masses of people trying to get down on their Super Bowl bets," points out Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of Gambling911.com who has been monitoring nonstop traffic inquiries related to the 2008 Super Bowl.

The line remained New England Patriots -12 most everywhere at press time Saturday evening.

The heavy Super Bowl betting action is attributed to two of the bigger market teams going up against one another and the fact that New England is looking to be the first team to go undefeated since the Miami Dolphins did it in 1972.

This Super Bowl's betting total is expected to top the previous best of two years ago by about $6 million, said Van Patten, whose firm supplies about 90 percent of the Las Vegas sports books with opening betting lines for events.

The Patriots were favored by up to 14 points at first before the line settled in at 12.

"The Super Bowl is always the one game out of the year that is dominated by the public money and the general public so the number is always inflated toward the favorite," Van Patten said.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com

Originally published February 2, 2008 8:21 pm EST