Super Bowl Sunday poses temptation for problem gamblers, Maryland experts urge bettors to use responsible gambling tools

Legal sportsbooks offer more prop bets than a typical NFL game, with DraftKings even offering an array of “Swiftie Specials.”

When the Super Bowl kicks off Sunday, sports bettors across Maryland will already know the result of one wager: Was the opening coin toss heads or tails?

Yes, that’s a real betting market available at the 11 legal online sportsbooks operating in Maryland. The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will legally wager a whopping $1.39 billion on this year’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

For the majority of sports bettors, Sunday’s game will be a chance to place a few wagers that add entertainment value. For those working at The Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling (The Center), they know there’s another side to Super Bowl Sunday.

“We expect we’ll see an uptick in calls [to our helpline],” said Mary Drexler, the program director at The Center. “It doesn’t usually happen the day after the Super Bowl. It usually happens a little later than that because people have time to think about what they may have spent.”

Drexler says her program’s five peer recovery specialists are actively working with 580 Marylanders, and they’re soon expected to add a sixth peer recovery specialist to help manage gambling harms in the state. Legal sports betting launched in Maryland in December 2021, with mobile betting platforms going live in November of 2022. Drexler has specifically seen a rise in gambling issues among young males in the state.

For problem gamblers, the Super Bowl poses temptation. Legal sportsbooks offer more prop bets than a typical NFL game, with DraftKings even offering an array of “Swiftie Specials.” Those prop bets are Taylor Swift-themed, as the pop star’s boyfriend (Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce) goes for his third consecutive Super Bowl win.

Among the bets on DraftKings? One is titled, “Today was a fairytale.” That prop bet will cash if the Chiefs win and Kelce scores two or more touchdowns.

“I mean, they can bet on almost anything,” Drexler said.

Experts urge sports bettors, whether they have an issue with their gambling habits or not, to use responsible gambling tools available on betting platforms. Those include setting time limits on how long you’ll use an app and creating a budget on how much you’ll bet on the Big Game.

“The vast majority of gamblers do not demonstrate problematic behavior and gambling does not become a disorder for them,” AGA’s senior vice president of strategic communications Joe Maloney said. “But it doesn’t mean that [responsible gambling] tools shouldn’t be for all gamblers.”

The AGA encourages people to follow its “Have a Game Plan” campaign, which includes five pillars:

Maloney stresses that gamblers should first find a legal sportsbook. This often trips up new bettors on Super Bowl Sunday. If a sportsbook is taking bets on the length of the national anthem, anything related to the halftime show or even how many times Swift appears on the broadcast, it’s not a legal and regulated operator in Maryland.

“Other than the coin toss, which actually does technically happen on the field, legal operators are only permitted to provide legal betting markets to the activity that happens on the field,” Maloney said.

Once using a legal sportsbook, bettors should take a serious look at if they’re enjoying the activity, which is meant to be recreational.

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“It should be social. It should be fun,” Maloney said. “It’s not about generating wealth. It’s not about some value-add investment.”

Even with the AGA’s efforts to promote its “Have a Game Plan” initiative, which included former Ravens running back Mark Ingram discussing the topic at Radio Row in New Orleans this week, Drexler says it can be tough to reach Maryland bettors with responsible gambling information and tactics. The Center’s limited budget, which doesn’t include any guaranteed money from sports betting revenues, pales in comparison with the money sports betting companies can (and do) spend on advertising.

“Whenever we advertise our number and our helpline, we see a definite uptick in calls,” Drexler said. “The issue, again, is my budget doesn’t allow me to do it 12 months a year.”

For bettors struggling to keep their gambling activity safe and healthy, The Center’s support via helpmygamblingproblem.org is free of charge, and the helpline (1-800-GAMBLER) is available for any Marylanders with a gambling problem to text or call.

Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Bennett Conlin at bconlin@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BennettConlin.