With the Super Bowl taking place in Las Vegas this year, the number of folks betting on the game is expected to skyrocket.
Estimates from the American Gaming Association predict the total amount of wagers for this year’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will be 35% higher than last year’s game. All totaled, 68 million American adults are expected to bet $23.1 billion on the game—and the innumerable side shows that have sprung up around it.
Obviously, there are the usual bets about winners and losers, but much more interesting are the proposition bets, or “prop bets,” being offered this year.
A prop bet is a wager where the outcome isn’t tied to the final score of the game, but rather to a specific event or moment. A prop bet can be as mundane as which quarterback will be the first to throw 100 yards or whether there will be a safety in the first half.
This year, though, there’s an X factor: Taylor Swift. And, somewhat predictably, some of the fringe, offshore prop bet operators are going all-in on that front. Among the options would-be bettors can choose from?
- Will Taylor Swift be shown wearing a giant foam finger?
- Will Travis Kelce propose to Swift on the field?
- What color top will Swift wear?
- Which commentator will say Swift’s name first?
- Will Taylor Swift be seen mouthing a curse word?
- Will Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift announce a pregnancy?
At this point, it’s worth noting that most prop bets, at least the ones that are most buzzworthy, aren’t something you can bet on at a casino window. (Bets that can potentially be influenced by an outside party are largely illegal in sportsbook facilities.)
If you’re betting at a casino or a legal online sportsbook, the prop bets will be a bit more gameplay oriented, as they have to be approved by the Gaming Control Board. MGM, for instance, which has the largest presence on the Las Vegas Strip, offers a variety of prop bets, including whether Travis Kelce will have a reception of more than 20.5 yards and who will claim the first touchdown.
The more wild stuff is happening online on unregulated offshore gambling sites, one of which currently has 89 Taylor Swift-themed prop bets to choose from.
For legal gambling, you could delve into DraftKings’ possible Super Bowl prop bets this year to unearth more unusual wagers (all of which are named after Swift songs) such as:
- Will Travis Kelce score an octopus (a player who scores both a touchdown and two point conversion on the same drive)?
- Will the 49ers score more than 40 points?
- Will the last play of the game be a QB kneel?
The biggest selection of prop bets, though, will once again be hosted by Westgate, whose complete list of things to wager on numbers in the thousands—and ranges from the results of the opening coin toss to which team will call a time-out first.
The biggest payouts this year, however, involve accurately predicting not only the winner of Super Bowl LVIII, but the exact score. If, for instance, you bet $100 on DraftKings that the 49ers beat the Chiefs by a score of 31-29 and that actually happens, your Benjamin Franklin will earn you $18,000.
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