Super Bowl's record-setting bet trend will continue, Barstool Sports CEO says

Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini argued on Thursday that record-setting interest in sports betting will continue after the Super Bowl. 

Nardini made the prediction on "Mornings with Maria," reacting to "incredible" expectations that this Sunday’s Super Bowl is expected to draw a record number of gamblers. 

The American Gaming Association released a report on the anticipated betting for the upcoming championship, finding that 31.4 million Americans plan to place a wager on the game – a 35% increase from 2021. The Association also noted that a record number of Americans will wager a titanic sum of around $7.61 billion on this year’s Super Bowl.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DKNG	DRAFTKINGS INC.	39.84	-1.30	-3.16%
MGM	MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL	37.27	-0.25	-0.67%
BETZ	LISTED FUND TRUST ROUNDHILL SPORTS BETTING AN	19.51	-0.21	-1.06%
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CZR	CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT INC.	37.04	-1.95	-5.00%
PENN	PENN ENTERTAINMENT INC.	20.78	-0.16	-0.76%

The expansion of legal and online betting likely played a significant factor in this spike, according to the AGA. Overall online betting activity increased by around 70% from last year. 

New York State approved nine online sportsbooks in November 2021, providing the biggest expansion for the market in some time. Groups including FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM launched earlier this year. 

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"I think that trend is only going to continue," Nardini argued. "You see FanDuel, you see DraftKings, you see the Barstool Sportsbook and others playing a role in that, and it gets people more engaged."

"It gets people excited around the highs of victory and the lows of defeat and I think you are only going to see that trend continue," she went on to say. 

Speaking on "Mornings with Maria" late last month, Soo Kim, managing partner and chief investment officer of hedge fund Standard General, explained why he's betting big on the gaming industry.

Last month, the hedge fund submitted an offer to buy the remaining stock of Bally's that it doesn’t already own for $38 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The acquisition bid reportedly values the gaming company at over $2 billion.

Kim acquired three casinos since the pandemic struck, including Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, which he bought for $25 million, the New York Post reported. 

Twin River Worldwide Holdings, an operator of no-frills gambling houses, is 38% owned by Standard General, the Post reported, noting that Twin River owns 10 gambling properties across six states, as well as a horse racetrack with 13 authorized off-track betting licenses in Colorado.

Kim told host Maria Bartiromo last month that gaming, which is in the hospitality and leisure industries, has outperformed the "space that has been really hit by COVID and I think it has shown the fact that even though it is lumped into consumer discretionary, the revenue really has been quite a bit more resilient, and it’s just one of those entertainment options that people really enjoy."

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"Mobile gaming is just going to be huge," he went on to forecast, stressing that "we are believers" and "buying more."

The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will face off on Sunday starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. 

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FOX Business’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.