Super Bowl Betting A Nightmare For Bookmakers - 02-17-08

February 17 - A few weeks after Super Bowl XLII and it seems as if the predicted record betting activity on Super Bowl never became a reality. Prior to the game, land based and online sports betting operators all seemed confident of a Super Bowl betting record.

The estimated amount of betting on the 17 to 14 upset by the Giants over the Patriots at land based bookies in the US was a total of $92.1. There were hopes that the game would set a new record of more than $100 million, beating the 2006 record of $94.5 million set in 2006.

The manager at one of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas apparently expressed surprise that the record wasn't broken. "After all the hype, I thought we would at least break the record and get $95 million to $97 million."

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, 174 licensed betting operators in the state lost $2.6 million on the game. In contrast they were reported to make a $12.9 million profit last year.

This is only the second time since 1991 that the Nevada bookies lost money on the Super Bowl. The previous loss was recorded in 1995 when the San Francisco 49ers hammered the San Diego Chargers with the bookies loosing $396,674.

The same sportsbook mangers partly blamed the fact that people didn't want to root for the favorites, after all the talk of the Patriots going 19-0.

Regular bettors did the most damage by betting on the Giants to win by a margin, and the Giants on the money line. There were also many people who won a parlay that the game total would be under 55.

Giants Quarterback Eli Manning's broke Patriot hearts when he nailed a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with only 35 seconds remaining on the clock.

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