Super Bowl bets in R.I. increase 4.4% Y/Y in 2022

Updated at 2:24 p.m.

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s total take on legal Super Bowl bets grew for the second year in a row, with a 4.4% increase from 2021 when Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the local favorite, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue.

Around $6.79 million was wagered for this year’s big game at the Bally’s Twin River and Tiverton casinos, along with the state’s mobile sports betting app. 

That’s more than the $6.5 million bet legally on the Super Bowl in Rhode Island last year. It’s also up from 2020, when fans in Rhode Island legally bet $5.5 million on the Super Bowl, according to Department of Revenue figures.

Paul Grimaldi, a spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, said in an email that approximately 95,000 bets were made on this year’s big game.

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That includes prop bets, with 4,400 bets made on the outcome of the coin toss and roughly 3,700 bets made on which player would score the first touchdown of the game.

While final numbers on how many bets were made on each side were not known Monday morning, before the weekend Grimaldi said 53% of gamblers betting on the spread in Rhode Island took the Cincinnati Bengals at +4.5. However, as of Feb. 11, 54% of the total money wagered against the spread was by bettors who took the Los Angeles Rams at -4.5.

Grimaldi said additional information breaking down Super Bowl betting would be released by the Rhode Island Lottery in its monthly report on Feb. 28.

In 2019, when Rhode Island gamblers could legally bet on the Super Bowl for the first time after sports betting was legalized the previous year, nearly $6.5 million was wagered at the state’s casinos.

The state collects 51% of sports betting profits.

Sports betting commenced at Rhode Island’s casinos in December 2018, before mobile sports betting came online in September 2019.

Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.

(Totals from 2019 Super Bowl bets in Rhode Island added to story)