U.S. consumer spending is still climbing in 2024—and Americans have recently been directing their funds toward Sunday night’s Super Bowl LVIII game, when the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will face off in Las Vegas.
Oddsmakers, you may want to credit Taylor Swift.
The American Gaming Association expects total spending on bets related to the Super Bowl to hit $1.5 billion this year—up 35% from 2023’s record figure. New York state could drive a significant uptick in betting: Bank of America analysts wrote in a Friday note that they expect $243 million in wagers to be placed in the Empire State on the big game, which would mark a 27% year-over-year jump.
Nevada will also likely generate a large chunk of the total spend: the Silver State generated $153 million in wagers last year. Most of the money gamblers bet should happen at casinos and via betting platforms like
DraftKings,
FanDuel, and BetMGM, BofA predicts.
The “Taylor Swift effect” is driving some of the increases, as the BofA analysts put it, referencing the pop singer’s highly-publicized relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Fans are placing an array of bets, from Kelce scoring a touchdown in both the first and second half of the game, to him winning MVP of the game, and even to him proposing to Swift on the field after the game.
It isn’t just the nature of the bets that prove the Swift effect, but also the fact that Swift has likely created some additional travel and leisure demand in select cities, including in Las Vegas. During her 2023 tour dates at various U.S. locales, revenue per available room in hotels saw an average year-over-year rise of 38%, according to BofA. The analysts noted that this weekend, rates at the Wynn in Las Vegas are up 250%, while the average ticket price for the Super Bowl is up 27%, at $9,014 a pop.
“The storylines of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are elevating this game to a higher level,” wrote BofA analyst Shaun Kelley.
While the stock market’s 2024 rally has been breathtaking, so is the rise of sports betting and travel-related spending. Thank the American consumer.
Write to Jacob Sonenshine at [email protected]
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