Local residents react to betting on Super Bowl for first time

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — This weekend will see the Philadelphia Eagles face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.

And it’s the first Super Bowl North Carolina residents will be able to bet on the big game.

Former Governor Roy Cooper signed a law legalizing gambling in June of 2023, but residents were unable to bet on the following Super Bowl featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers because the state was still in the process of lining up legal sportsbooks to operate online.

The sportsbooks started taking bets just before college basketball’s premiere event, March Madness.

But Wilmington resident Tyler Naron said he can’t wait to place some bets on American football’s biggest game.

“I’m gonna do a lot of bets and I think it’s minus 125, first kickoff touchback,” Naron said. “I go tails every year, tails never fails, but yes, no I do those for the Super Bowl.”

But not everyone is as excited about betting on the Super Bowl as Tyler.

Jacob Castles is a UNCW student.

He said that since students as young as 21 are allowed to bet on sports, placing a lot of bets on the Super Bowl could have consequences.

“College students are particularly known for not making the wisest decisions at times and you worry like somebody might throw away money that they needed for something else really important like rent or something towards something like this, like that could happen.”

According to the American Gaming Commission, an estimated $1.4 billion are expected to be bet on this year’s game, the most ever for a signal game in US history.