For those of you seeing the ubiquitous ads for betting sites during games and wondering exactly when the sea-change of digital wagering happened, no, you haven’t been living under a rock. For many states, online betting was legalized for the first time in the past few years, while several other states legalized that form of wagering earlier.
But if online app games once ate up months of your life or you’re just generally uncomfortable with the idea of real, honest-to-God gambling on an app, never fear, for there is a lot of fun to be had between you, family, and friends at this year’s Super Bowl party. While I don’t regularly bet on football, whether online or otherwise, watching the Super Bowl seems more fun if I have a little money riding on it. The excitement is palpable, and our guide to Super Bowl prop bets will only raise the stakes.
How much is bet on the Super Bowl each year?
Before we get into the types of prop bets, let’s take a look at the bigger picture surrounding Super Bowl bets. As you can imagine, it’s a huge business, and it’s only getting bigger.
According to an American Gaming Association survey, in 2024, over 67 million adults planned to place a bet on the Super Bowl that year, a 35% increase from the previous year. The amount of money wagered on the game was up dramatically as well, and the American Gaming Association estimated that over $23 billion was bet on Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, which was a significant increase from the $16 billion bet the previous year.
The association also found that because of the increase in the number of outlets to place a bet, such as an online sportsbook, the number of people placing traditional Super Bowl bets in 2024 was up 41% from 2023. Also, the number of people looking to bet casually with friends was up 32%, with 36.5 million people playing that way.
So, assuming you’re one of those people, let’s get on to our guide to give you some ideas on how to have some fun with prop bets.
Super Bowl prop bets
Proposition bets — also known as the side bet — are a time-honored tradition among friends and family, and they’re an easy (and often low-stakes) way of putting a little more skin in the game. The key is to find something that has no direct impact on the outcome of the game itself, and then find someone willing to take the bet.
Keep the stakes small. Think of this as the quarter slots at the casino. You won’t make a lot if you win, but you won’t need to cry if you lose. The numerical value should range from a dollar to a cap of around 10.
Some of our favorite bets include
- Heads or tails on the coin toss
- Whether the halftime show talent is suspended by wires
- Which team will score the first touchdown
- Which team will have the most passing yards
- Which team will have the most field goals
- Which kicker will look like the lead singer from Weezer
- The over/under for the time it takes to get through the national anthem
Other betting games
Over/under
Yeah, this one can bleed into the prop bets category, but its style runs within and without the game. Set a specific number — say, the number of commercials that will play before some pharmaceutical ad pops up. Add a half to that number to ensure that there are no draws (“three-point-five commercials”). One person in your group takes the “over” or bets that the actual amount will go over that number, and another takes the under. Got it?
In-game, set a number for the total of completed passes or rushing yards and follow the same rules. As mentioned, these could also be integrated into prop bets for bigger payouts or side action with another party.
Squares
Have you been overwhelmed by all this football-centric jargon so far? Don’t know a touchdown from a touchback? Then squares is your game! It’s easy to set up and requires zero knowledge of rule changes for the season. All you need is a pen, a sheet of paper (all of you will share one piece), and a ruler to draw a 10-by-10 grid with spaces for numbers along one side and the top with the name of one team along the top and the other team on the side (don’t fill in the numbers yet).
Put your name in one of the squares and pass it around until everyone has one square. Then, small pieces of paper numbered 0-9 were put in a hat, and the numbers were randomly drawn. Then, the spaces were filled out along the sides and top in the order they were drawn. It should look like the sample below.
Now, swipe right on your dating app a few times, eat some chicken wings, and check back in when the quarter, the half, the third quarter, and the end of the game finish, recording the scores. Take the last digit of both teams’ scores and see what square the two numbers meet on. If it’s your square, you win! The beauty of the game is that there are four chances to win.
Everyone pays into a pot before numbers are selected, and then each quarter’s winner earns a fifth of the pot. The winner of the fourth quarter, and therefore the game, usually gets two-fifths.
Finally, one last piece of advice: Avoid the twos. (Trust us.)
Take Jamie Foxx’s advice on this one: Go with your gut. MGM, FanDuel, and MyBookie are only a few of the online gambling options out there, but like casinos themselves, they’re all relatively safe because of the oversight and regulation. Once you get in, you’ll be offered all sorts of options, which is always a perk. Have fun, set a limit, and know when to walk away. And when to run away even faster.
Is it legal to run a Super Bowl pool?
So, with gambling laws varying from state to state, it raises the question, is running a betting pool at my Super Bowl party illegal? The answer is a definitive maybe. While most states allow some form of informal sports betting, there are instances where that Super Bowl squares pool is against the law.
Let’s be honest: No matter what the law says, there is very little chance that your $5 per square pool among friends at your Super Bowl party is going to attract the attention of law enforcement, so you should be good to go. But there could be issues with some larger pools with big money entry fees, pools where the organizer keeps a share of the entry fees, or pools that are being run by a business like a bar. Additionally, unlicensed pools on the internet that are open to anyone would likely be against federal law if there were participants from multiple states, as they would be considered a form of an illegal lottery.
As we said earlier, when it comes to Super Bowl pools, have fun, set a limit, and take it easy on the dip and wings — you need to go to work tomorrow!
