With Eagles in Super Bowl, Pennsylvania’s Sportsbooks Prepare for Surge in Wagering

For the first time in five years, the Philadelphia Eagles punched their ticket to Super Bowl LVII after beating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game by the score of 31-7.

Favored by 1.5 points at DraftKings and FanDuel, the Eagles enter Super Bowl 57 as a slight favorite over the AFC champ, the Kansas City Chiefs. The point total for over/under bets sits at 50.5 points. The Eagles moneyline wager stands at -122, while the Chiefs hold +104 odds with the straight-up bet.

After diehard Eagles fans, the Pennsylvania sportsbooks, and their impressive Pennsylvania online sports betting apps, look to benefit the most from the Eagles' trip to the big game. After steady year-to-year gains, the Eagles' visit to Super Bowl 57 could bring state bookmakers their biggest handle since sports betting opened in late 2018.

Since the state's sportsbooks began taking bets on the Super Bowl in February 2019, bookmakers in the Keystone State have seen steady gains over the four years.

In 2019, Pennsylvania's sportsbooks accepted just $10 million in wagers on Super Bowl 53, the final NFL title win for newly retired QB Tom Brady as a member of the New England Patriots. The Pats defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in a low-scoring affair.

The following year, the state's sportsbooks took on $30.7 million in total handle on Super Bowl 54. The first Super Bowl victory of Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes' career as his Chiefs defeated the 49ers by the score of 31-20.

For Super Bowl 55 in Tampa, Florida, the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by Brady, defeated the Chiefs 31-9. Sportsbooks in Pennsylvania accepted a whopping $53.6 million in wagers, a handle increase of 75% over the 2020 Super Bowl.

Last year, Keystone State sportsbooks handled $68 million in total wagers for Super Bowl 56, a 23-20 victory for the Los Angeles Rams over the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Sports betting experts suggest this year's Super Bowl could top over $80 million in total handle due to the Eagles' appearance in the big game, another financial boost for the state’s casinos after they announced $5.2 billion in total revenue in 2022.

In-state bookmakers expect a significant percentage of Eagles bets, leaving them vulnerable to a significant loss if Philadelphia can cover the 1.5-point spread.