While the Super Bowl is the most-bet single event in the U.S., not all markets related to the Big Game are available in every legal wagering jurisdiction.
Key Takeaways
- Not all legal sports betting jurisdictions offer Super Bowl novelty props.
- Most aren’t allowed in Missouri, the newest market, or New York, the most lucrative state.
- The coin toss and Super Bowl MVP are found in many jurisdictions.
That’s something bettors are finding out heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and Seahawks (-4.5).
Sides, totals, and moneylines are readily available in 39 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., but if you want to get a wager in on novelty props, like the coin toss result or length of the National Anthem, you’re going to have to check where you live and which sportsbook you use.
That’s because each jurisdiction’s regulators determine what sports and non-sports related markets to offer.
For instance, betting on the color of the Gatorade bath dumped on the winning coach is only allowed in as many as five U.S. states. New Jersey and Illinois are the only big markets with online sports betting that offer that prop. New York, the most lucrative sports betting jurisdiction in the U.S, allows very few of the popular novelties.
Missouri, the only state to launch sports betting since the prior Super Bowl, didn’t approve requests for many of these props.
Still, these are fun bets in many jurisdictions that draw interest from professional and recreational bettors to even non-sports fans. Here’s a look at some of the more popular novelty props, with where and how to wager on them for Super Bowl LX:
| Novelty Props | FanDuel markets | DraftKings markets | BetMGM markets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coin toss | AZ, IA, IL, IN, MA, MD, MI, MS, NJ, NY, PA, VT, WA, WV, WY, DC, ON | AZ, IA, IL, IN, LA, MI, MA, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, WV, WA, WY, MD, ME, NC, VT, ON | AZ, IA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NV, PA, WV, WY, DC, ON, PR |
| Gatorade bath color | IL, NJ, ON | IL, NJ, OR, ME, WV, ON | IL, LA, NJ, WY, ON, PR |
| National Anthem | ON | ME, ON | ON, PR |
| Halftime show | ON | ME, ON | ON |
| Super Bowl MVP | AZ, CT, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, TN, WA, WV, WY, DC, ON | NJ, WV, PA, IN, IA, NH, CO, TN, MI, IL, OR, WY, AZ, CT, LA, KS, MD, OH, MA, KY, ME, MO, NC, WA, DC, ON | AZ, CT, CO, DC, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, OH, ON, PA, PR, TN, WA, WV, WY, PR |
Flip of the coin
A 50/50 bet that draws a ton of action each year, the coin toss result is only available in about a dozen states, including Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Typically, sportsbooks add a little juice to both sides. DraftKings offers heads at -103 odds and tails at -103, but that can change based on which side is taking the most action. Some jurisdictions also offer a prop in which the winner of the coin toss also wins the game.
DraftKings offers this market in many of the same states as the coin toss result wager.
Colorful bath
The Gatorade bath color has grown in popularity over the years, but it’s not widely offered. FanDuel only has that prop in Illinois and New Jersey. DraftKings extends it to West Virginia, Maine, and Oregon, while BetMGM includes Louisiana and Wyoming.
Still, this is a fun prop because of the customer-friendly odds. BetMGM lists orange as the +225 favorite, while yellow/lime/green, which hit last year, is second at +260. Blue is posted with the same odds, but after that, it drops off significantly. Purple is +750, with red/pink and water/clear coming in as +1,100 longshots.
Big Game’s Best
Considered a novelty, Super Bowl MVP is a heavily bet market that many sportsbooks offer long before the Big Game’s teams are decided. It’s also one of the most widely offered props, listed in more than 20 jurisdictions.
When Super Bowl MVP odds opened at BetMGM, Sam Darnold was listed at +600, and Drake Maye had odds of +1,100. Now, they’re both down +120 and +230, respectively.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+500) is the book’s biggest liability heading into Sunday, and the Seattle star receiver has taken a market-high 9.5% of the bets.
Music lovers
If you’re looking for National Anthem and Halftime Show props, you’re likely going to need to head north, way north. These kind of markets aren’t typically approved by state regulators because knowledge of the bets can be obtained before the outcomes or manipulated. So sportsbooks have to stay away from them.
However, that is not the case in Ontario, Canada’s primary sports betting province. The length of the “Star Spangled Banner,” which songs will be played at the Halftime Show, and many other props offered and not offered in the U.S. can be found at FanDuel, DraftKings, and other sportsbooks operating in Ontario.
The over/under for Charlie Puth’s rendition of the Anthem on Sunday is set between 120.5 and 125.5 seconds by various operators. Bet99 in Ontario lists “ALAMBRE” as the +230 favorite to be the halftime performer Bad Bunny’s first song.
Prediction opportunities
While sports betting operators and their catalogues are determined by state regulators, prediction markets are federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Many trading exchanges, like Kalshi and Robinhood, operate in nearly every U.S. state.
Since they offer derivative markets with contracts that are purchased and sold on each side, some of the popular props can be found there that sportsbooks don’t offer. They also offer Super Bowl announcer mention markets. This is expected to be a huge Super Bowl for prediction markets.
Kalshi has already seen a volume of over $3.7 million on its market for the first halftime song. Under its culture category, the prediction platform is also offering markets on “Who will attend the Big Game?” and “Who will perform at the Big Game?”
The market for Super Bowl MVP, which has Darnold listed first at 45 cents per contract, has a volume of over $8.8 million.
