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Everyone knows that when it comes to gambling The House Always Wins. However, we now have empirical proof that, in regards to the Super Bowl – the biggest sports betting event in the country – The House doesn’t always win.

They just win a statistically overwhelming amount of times and an astronomical amount of profit. 

The Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, Feb. 2 in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, pitting Seattle against Denver. According to published online reports, more than $8 billion was bet on the Super Bowl last year and even more wagering is expected this year.

Of course, the real number of dollars bet on the Super Bowl is impossible to pin down because of offshore books and illegal gambling channels. However, Raphael Esparza, also known as the Vegas Sports Informer and a former Las Vegas sportsbook manager, sent me the following chart from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. It breaks down how much money has been legally wagered on the Super Bowl in the state’s sportsbooks over the last 19 years. The chart also shows how much money the sportsbooks, collectively, won and what their net profit percentage for each Super Bowl has been:

As you can see, the books have only failed to post a profit on the Super Bowl twice in the last two decades. (See – The House doesn’t ALWAYS win!) And in both instances their losses were nominal.

The rest of the time? Yeah, the sportsbooks are kicking your ass.

Over $1.5 billion has been wagered legally in the state over the last 19 years and the books have turned that into over $100 million in profit. To be honest, I was actually expecting their rake to be even larger.

Las Vegas sportsbooks have actually taken a loss on the straight side bets in several Super Bowls over the past two decades. But the reason that they still show a profit so consistently on Super Sunday is simple.

“The books bank on all the prop bets and all the futures tickets,” said Esparza. “(Even) if you get crushed on the game (there’s still) all the prop bets and futures tickets.”

There has been a 42 percent increase in the amount wagered on the Super Bowl between 1995 and 2013. Some of that can be chalked up to inflation, I suppose. But it is not a coincidence that prop betting has become more popular and become more sophisticated during that same span.

Now, just because Las Vegas sportsbooks nearly always show a profit that doesn’t mean individual bettors can’t turn a profit as well. I am certain that you or your friends or someone you know has some good stories about hitting big on Super Bowl Sunday. I have turned a profit in five straight Super Bowls myself, and I have hit some major scores during that time.

But the fact is that winning in the short term or earning some anecdotal wins is one thing. Consistently beating the books in the marquee gambling event of the year is something else entirely.

“I tell people, ‘It is still ONE football game’”, Esparza added. “If you are looking to hit it big on one game you are better off throwing your money in the toilet and flushing it.

“Bet it smart or just pass!”

Robert Ferringo is one of the best football handicappers in the country and has posted five straight winning Super Bowls. Robert has banked nearly $13,300 in football profit since Nov. 2012 and has raked in nearly $9,000 in the 2013-14 season alone. Take advantage of our free, no-strings-attached $60 credit to use toward a purchase of Robert’s selections. CLICK HERE for $60 absolutely free!
  

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