The betting action on Super Bowl LVI was heavy and split at sportsbooks entering Sunday.
The Los Angeles Rams remain consensus 4-point favorites, but there has been plenty of support for the underdog Cincinnati Bengals.
DraftKings reported that it had taken more spread bets on the Bengals than on the Rams in 16 of the 17 states in which the sportsbook serves. Michigan was the only state in which the sportsbook had seen more bets on the Rams.
“At this point, Rams and under [48.5] would be the best outcome,” DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN on Saturday night.
Jason Scott, vice president of trading for BetMGM, said his book would’ve needed the Rams if the game had started Sunday morning but noted that things could change quickly as the bulk of the action is placed leading up to the 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
“I’m expecting the big players to come [Sunday] for the Rams,” Scott told ESPN in a text message Saturday, adding that he expects his book will need the Bengals by kickoff.
One big player already has put money on the Rams. According to BetMGM, a bettor in Las Vegas placed three $1 million bets with its sportsbook on Saturday:
• Rams -0.5 (+105) in the first quarter
• Rams -2.5 (-120) in the first half
• Rams over 13.5 (-115) in the first half
Caesars Sportsbook’s biggest wagers were on the Bengals to win the game straight-up. Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, a Houston furniture store owner, placed two money-line bets on Cincinnati totaling $9.5 million with Caesars in Louisiana. McIngvale, who often uses the betting market to mitigate risk on his store’s promotional giveaways, would win $16.2 million if the Bengals win the Super Bowl.
With McIngvale’s big bets on the Bengals, Caesars dropped the price to bet the Rams late in the week and attracted heavy action on Los Angeles to put the sportsbook in a comfortable position entering Sunday.
“We’ll be hoping for the middle, with the Rams winning but not covering [the spread],” Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, said Saturday night. “We think we’re in a good position overall. Still a ways to go, and it’s big bet after big bet coming in.”
The over/under total was sitting at 48.5 Sunday morning.