By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Taylor Swift may have her legion of fans rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl but she will not be able to sway sportsbooks given they stand to make more money if the San Francisco 49ers prevail in the NFL’s championship game.
While the bulk of bets will not be made until the weekend, there is plenty of money on Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Chiefs repeating as Super Bowl champions in Las Vegas on Sunday.
According to online sportsbook BetMGM, 69% of bets are on Kansas City covering the spread — either winning the game or losing by no more than two points — while 80% of the moneyline bets — picking the outright winner — are on the Chiefs.
“If we keep receiving the same kind of action and number of bets and number of money on Kansas City then we will likely need the 49ers to win the game,” John Ewing, BetMGM’s PR Manager of Media Insights, told Reuters.
Jay Kornegay, vice president of Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas, said ticket count there favours the Chiefs by a 2-to-1 ratio, though big-money wagers from sharps — methodical players who can move the lines with large bets — are on the 49ers.
But Kornegay said the Super Bowl is unique in that betting lines around the high-profile game are controlled by public money, as opposed to most every other sporting event where lines are geared toward what sharp players have in mind.
“The public money will just overrun the sharp money,” said Kornegay. “For the most part the public hasn’t really gotten a-hold of this game yet.
“They’re really not going to bet it until this weekend … there’s a good chance that we’re going to get a lot of Kansas City money this weekend.”
SWIFT BETS
The American Gaming Association expects a record 67.8 million American adults to bet $23.1 billion on the Super Bowl, which is a rematch of the February 2020 championship game won by the Chiefs.
Chris Bennett, sportsbook director for Circa Sports in Las Vegas, said while one large bet ahead of Sunday’s 6:30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT) kickoff could impact what outcome is more lucrative to his business, he expects a 49ers win will be most beneficial.
“Presuming that the number on this game stays pretty stable around 49ers (to win by two points) I would imagine it’s more likely that we’re going to be rooting for the 49ers when they kick off on Sunday,” said Bennett.
While billions will be wagered on the Super Bowl, only a portion of the funds will be devoted to the actual winner or on the game itself.
Aside from more traditional bets, gamblers can take a chance at proposition bets, like deciding which team will score first and what colour liquid will be poured on the winning coach.
There are even a slew of Swift-related bets given the pop superstar’s allegiance to the Chiefs has been making headlines ever since she started dating Kelce last year and appearing at Kansas City games.
Among the options, FanDuel Canada is allowing wagers on whether Kelce will propose to Swift at the Super Bowl while BetUS is offering odds on whether the couple will announce their first pregnancy at the Super Bowl.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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