Las Vegas sportsbooks are still expecting a record betting handle for Super Bowl XLVIII even if betting on the game has stalled. Nobody’s worried, at least not yet, and there’s reasonably expectations that business is going to pick up, especially if the line movement, which has been stagnant for the past few days, continues to tack in more points to the Denver Broncos.
As it stands, most sportsbooks have the Broncos at -2 with some at -2.5. Typically, those favoring the underdogs wait until they get a little more favorable line before putting their money down. In this case, there’s reason to believe that a lot of folks backing the Seattle Seahawks are sitting on their toes and waiting to get 3 points before pouring in the money on the other side.
Currently, the ticket counts are 2-to-1 in favor of Denver, something that can be attributed to the rush of bets on the Broncos when the line initially came out with with Seattle as 2-point favorites.
The swing was fast and furious in the first day of the line coming out but since then, it’s been held at a standstill. MGM Resorts sports book hub manager Jeff Stoneback told SportingNews that his estimates stood at just five percent of the entire action being taken so far.
“We haven’t even taken any large bets yet,” he added. “As the weekend approaches and time starts to run out, we’ll see plenty of them.”
There’s still that goal of reaching a record betting handle that could exceed $100 million for the first time in Super Bowl history. Even with handle moving slower-than-expected, sportsbooks expect a rush in bets to take place, including those that go well into the four digits, possibly even five.
Some books believe a record handle will be set once all bets are taken, reasonable expectations considering how potential movement on the spread and the total (it started at 48 and is now down to 47) could trigger that betting windfall that drives the handle up to that magical $100 million mark.
