With Super Bowl LX approaching, Paysafe has been surveying sports fans across various regulated and unregulated states in the US and Canada to gauge what trends are likely to shape betting activity during the red-letter sporting occasion.
American Football's showpiece event will take place at Levi’s Stadium in California where sports betting is illegal – even though Californians are not able to legally bet on the game, the survey showed that prospective appetite to do so was up at 60%.
This figure sets the tone for an event that the American Gaming Association has projected will generate a record sports betting handle of $1.76bn.
Indeed, 27% of potential bettors intend to place higher bets than usual according to the research.
3,000 respondents were surveyed, all of whom were above the age of 21 and had expressed interest in following the event.
These participants spanned Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario, as well as prospective markets like California, Texas and Alberta.
Of the football fans in the regulated markets, 51% planned to place a bet online or via an app, with first-time bettors making up 31% of these.
For operators this naturally creates a huge opportunity, and as Paysafe highlights, it crams most of this opportunity into a high-intensity, limited time window.
It can also put platforms under heavy strain, with 59% of bettors seemingly planning to place their wagers on the day itself.
Paysafe’s survey revealed that 84% of bettors say they would switch brands if they suffered a poor payment experience, so that is something operators will need to make sure can run fluidly under high demand if they want to extract the most value from the Super Bowl.
On payments, Paysafe’s research shows that digital wallets will be how 42% of respondents fund their bets, with eCash solutions making up a further 10%.
In Florida, the number planning to use e-wallets is up at 53%, reiterating the need for operators to maintain flexible payment solutions.
Interviews for this research were conducted online throughout December 2025 by Sapio Research on behalf of Paysafe.
The Seattle Seahawks have only won one Super Bowl in their 50-year history
