The 2022-2023 playoffs are underway which means the Super Bowl isn’t far off. A record 31.4 million people were estimated to have wagered over $7 billion on last year’s big game and with several new states in the mix, Super Bowl 57 is all but guaranteed to surpass those numbers.
The 2023 Super Bowl will be held in Glendale, Arizona, marking the first NFL championship game to be held in a state with legalized sports betting. Additionally, State Farm Stadium is the first NFL venue to have an on-site sportsbook, setting the stage for a massive weekend for the industry.
Whether you’ll be enjoying the game at home or taking in the festivities in person, here are five tips for betting on Super Bowl 57.
Money Management: Set a Limit
The most important thing you can do when getting ready to bet on the Super Bowl is to predetermine the amount of money you can responsibly wager and stick to it.
This is especially true for those who will be using mobile sportsbook apps to place their bets. With the excitement of Super Sunday, having a sportsbook in the palm of your hand can lead to overextending yourself quite easily without even realizing it. Sports betting platforms have wagers available before the game even starts until the game is over, ranging from the length of the National Anthem to the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach. Most apps also have the capability for live or in-game betting as well, allowing you to place wagers on individual drives or play-by-play.
Betting can wreak havoc on your emotions as well. If you’re doing great and hitting bets, it is easy to want to double down and wager even more. On the flip side, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to “chase” wins and get money back if your bets are doing poorly.
For the overwhelming majority of adults, sports betting should be looked at as a form of entertainment and not a source of additional income. Most bettors are overconfident in their picks and have unrealistic expectations of how well they will do. In fact, professional sports bettors are generally looking to cash in on just over 50% of their wagers.
Take Advantage of Sportsbook Promos and Bonuses
Because the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sports betting events of the year, mobile sportsbooks will have generous sign up bonuses for new users and may even change their standard welcome offer to attract more customers. Depending on which state you’ll be betting from, you’ll want to search for things like ‘Caesars NY promo code’ during the time leading up to the big game.
These are the most common types of new user promos:
- First bet offers – You will see these offers referred to differently between sportsbooks with verbiage like “risk-free first bet”, “second-chance bet”, or “first bet insurance”. These all have the same end result. If the first bet you place results in a loss, the sportsbook will match your wager as a site credit (up to a certain amount) which you can then use on a future bet.
- Bet and gets – Bet-and-get offers are becoming more common and typically require a low initial wager amount. FanDuel and DraftKings, for example, have both ran bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bet offers in recent months. The best part about these offers is you receive the bonus regardless of the outcome of your first wager.
- Deposit match – As the name implies, some sportsbooks will match your initial wager as site credit. You’ll want to read the fine print, however, as not only does the amount vary between platforms, but so does the percent at which your deposit is matched.
Super Bowl 57 bonuses won’t be limited to just new users, either. The best online sportsbooks will absolutely have promos for existing users to get in on as well, including profit boosts, odds boosts, bet-and-get offers, and more.
Get in Early
As soon as the conference championship games end and the Super Bowl 57 matchup is set, sportsbooks will be quick to put out opening odds for the game. If you feel strongly about the spread, moneyline, or total, it’s always a good idea to place your bets as soon as possible.
In the 24-48 hours leading up to the Super Bowl is when the majority of bets will be placed and the sheer volume can change these odds or move the lines.
Small, half-point swings can be the difference between a profitable Super Bowl Sunday and a losing one. If, for example, the underdog opened at +3.5 and the public money pushed it down to +2.5 and the game ends up as a three-point difference, missing out on the early line would have costed you a win.
Look for the Best Lines
Tying into the above Super Bowl 57 betting tip, this practice is commonly referred to as “line shopping” and is done by all serious bettors. Most legal sportsbooks won’t be incredibly far off from one another, but small differences can determine whether or not you’re profitable long-term.
Here are two examples:
- Let’s say you decide to place a $50 moneyline bet on the underdog and Sportsbook A has the odds at +340 and Sportsbook B is set at +375. These odds aren’t far apart but would result in payouts of $220 and $237.50, respectively. The payout difference likely won’t make or break your Super Bowl Sunday, but over an extended period of time it certainly adds up.
- Another example would be on point totals and point spreads. It doesn’t make sense to bet a line at -3.5 if -3 is available. With totals, you wouldn’t want to bet the under at 47.5 if you can get it at 48.5 elsewhere or vice versa for the over.
You don’t have to try to compare a dozen different sportsbooks, but you’ll find variances across just two or three.
Do Some Homework
Even if you’re just a casual bettor and you only place a handful of wagers each year, doing a little bit of homework can go a long way.
The biggest things to take a look at would be the injury statuses of each team and the strengths and weaknesses of both offenses and defenses. Being armed with some basic information can help you make better betting decisions. Doing a quick Google search for “NFL stats” returned more than 400,000,000 results – there is no shortage of places to find what you’re looking for.
If you have never placed a wager before and aren’t familiar with the lingo, looking up what a moneyline wager is and what the + and – mean next to the odds will be extremely helpful. For first timers, it can certainly be overwhelming opening up a sportsbook app for the first time if you have no idea what you’re looking at.
