By Wayne Parry -
The Associated Press
More people than ever are expected to place bets on this year's Super Bowl in the United States, including first-time viewers drawn to the game by the possible attendance of pop star Taylor Swift, whose boyfriend Travis Kelce will be among the players.
While sports betting advertisements bombard the media with ads and promotions, some aspects of the sporting event can be confusing, especially for those who are betting for the first time or who don't really understand how things work.
[Latinos addicted to gambling share their testimonies loaded with guilt and stigma]
Here's
how to legally bet
on Sunday's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
Legal bets can be made in person at a casino or racetrack (call before you go; not all casinos or racetracks offer sports betting), or online at the websites of virtual betting companies.
Keep in mind that this is supposed to be a fun form of entertainment, so only bet what you can afford to lose.
Here we include information about help if you have problems with the game.
Types of bets and what commission you will have to pay
Two of the most popular bets are the point spread (the number of points by which a team must win the game for the bet to be a winner) and the total, also known as over/
under
(the total number of points scored by both teams).
Contrary to popular belief, the point spread is not a consensus on how many points bookmakers believe a team will win by.
Rather, it is a number designed to generate a betting number as close as possible to an equal number on both sides.
In this way, bookmakers guarantee a profit through a part of the action, called
vigorish
or
vig
.
Most sports betting companies
take 10% or more
of a winning bet before paying out the rest, but they keep 100% of all losing bets.
Super Bowl betting prices can vary significantly, so it's worth shopping around to get the lowest possible price before placing a bet.
Winning the spread is known as “covering.”
For the 49ers, the favorites, to cover their 2.5-point difference, they must win the game by 3 or more points.
On the other hand, underdog Kansas City can cover by winning the game or losing by less than 3 points.
[More states approve online sports betting. But experts warn of the social costs]
Don't want to bother with the points and just pick the winner?
That bet is called the “money line.”
A bet on the 49ers simply winning the game, regardless of the score, has less payout.
You will have to bet 130 dollars of your own money just to win 100. (Of course, you will get your original 130 back as part of the 230 payout.)
A moneyline bet on Kansas City, however, will win $110 on a bet of 100, for a total payout of 210.
If you think the match will have a lot of goals, you can bet on the total, which is currently 47.5 points.
That means that if you bet on the total, both teams combined must score at least 48 points for your bet to win.
If not, those who bet on the
under
will win .
Can I create my own bets?
Yes. There are alternatives, but they can be expensive.
You can choose your own spread or total to improve your chances of winning, but the further you deviate from the sportsbook's figure, the less they will pay you if you win.
You can also choose a hard-to-hit number to get a higher potential payout, such as betting on the 49ers to win by 20 points, but it's a very risky strategy.
Sportsbooks are also promoting combined bets, known as
parlays
, in which two or more outcomes must be accurately predicted.
This can include point differential, total points scored, and whether or not a particular player reaches a statistical milestone.
The payouts on accumulator bets are higher, but for good reason: they are riskier bets.
Each element of a parlay bet has to win or else the entire bet loses.
It is not surprising that combined bets are the ones that generate the most money.
What else can I bet on?
If all of this seems too complicated for you, there are much simpler ways to bet, including some created for casual fans or even those who know nothing about football.
A favorite is to bet on
the coin toss
at the start of the game to determine which team can choose to have the ball first.
There are only two options: heads or tails, and it occurs before the match even begins for those eager to find out if their bet is a winner.
You can even bet on the color of Gatorade the winning coach will douse himself in at the end of the game.
[Fines, sanctions and even jail time: Super Bowl betting winnings must be declared to the IRS]
This is what is called a proposition bet.
This involves betting on whether or not a specific event will occur during the match, and there is a wide variety to choose from.
They can be very simple, such as guessing which team will have the ball first, whether the first score of the game will be a touchdown or a field goal, or whether or not the game will go to overtime.
Betting based on the performance of a particular player is always popular during the Super Bowl.
You can bet on whether Chiefs
quarterback
Patrick Mahomes will make over or under 262.5 yards, how many catches his favorite target tight end Kelce will make (over or under 6.5) and how many yards 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will rush for (over or less than 89.5).
Can I bet once the match has already started?
People with online sports betting accounts can bet on ever-changing outcome probabilities as the match is played;
Live betting is the fastest growing segment of sports betting.
[Cell phone gambling addiction is ruining families: "I cheated on my mother"]
For example, the game starts with a 2.5-point lead for the 49ers, but let's say Kansas City scores two quick
touchdowns
to take a 14-0 lead.
Then the game statistics will change to reflect that, and you can bet on whether Kansas City will win by 14 points or more, or whether the 49ers will lose by less than that.
Or say 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel is being blocked by Chiefs defenders and seems unlikely to eclipse his pregame total of 58.5 receiving yards.
Bettors can bet on whether or not he will reach a lower figure.
However, be careful: the amount of these bets during the match and the speed with which the odds change
can be dangerous
for people with gambling addiction problems, and many experts fear that they could make even a casual player become a problem gambler.
Good advice: set a budget in advance that you can lose, and stick to it.
Consider betting as a form of entertainment and not a way to make money.
If things change, don't make extra bets to try to win back what you've lost.
That's one of the quickest ways to create losses that can add up quickly.
What to do if you think you have a gambling problem?
Betting on the Super Bowl is supposed to be fun, and for most people it is.
But for others, gambling addiction is a serious problem.
If you need help, call 800-GAMBLER or visit www.gamblersanonymous.org.