Vermont’s new online sports betting platform has faced its first Super Bowl, attracting over $2 million in wagers for the Big Game.
According to Liquor and Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight, about 35,000 individuals placed an average of four bets each on the game, with the typical wager amounting to $15.
Three-quarters of all bets originated from Vermont residents, while out-of-state participants accounted for the remainder.
Despite an intensive advertising blitz by the three licensed sports betting companies in Vermont in the lead-up to the big game, only 4% of bettors were new users.
Knight said: “I think what we are seeing right now is that there’s been a lot of pent-up demand and there’s not a lot of active new users. Now that will probably start to change.”
The proportion of Vermonters engaging in Super Bowl betting notably exceeded figures from the platform’s initial weeks of operation. In January, out-of-state visitors dominated online bets in Vermont, constituting over half of all wagers. However, for the Super Bowl, this figure fell to just 24%.
Knight said it will be interesting to continue monitoring the contribution of out-of-state players to Vermont’s online sports wagering activity. She said that many out-of-state bettors likely remained at home during the Super Bowl weekend, implying a potential resurgence in their participation in the future.
Buoyed by the initial response to online sports betting, the state has revised its revenue forecasts. Vermont now anticipates generating between $8 and $10 million in the platform’s first six months of operation.
