Are you going to be watching the big game or pass this year?

According to a new survey of more than 2,000 Americans, Super Bowl spending is expected to be down 19% from 2021, and more than a quarter of respondents says they won’t be tuning in at all.

On the other hand, three in 10 do plan on placing a Super Bowl-related bet (including on the Puppy Bowl!), and many of those bettors will be using a credit card to do so, according to a news release.

Key findings

  • Expected consumer spending on the Super Bowl drops by 19%, with fewer Americans planning to watch. Americans expect to spend $88 this year on game day activities, compared with $108 last year. At the same time, 28% say they won’t watch the big game, up from 21% last year.
  • Northeasterners plan to be the biggest Super Bowl spenders — even though the four teams within the region all have been eliminated since the survey was conducted. Residents up north will spend $144 celebrating the Super Bowl, more than double the averages of the West and Midwest, and they’re more likely to bet on the game than those in any other region.
  • Three out of 10 Americans will make a Super Bowl-related bet. Those most likely to wager on the big game include Gen Zers (42%), millennials (41%), and men (36%).
  • One in three Super Bowl gamblers will use a credit card to place at least one of their bets. This could be partly attributed to the fact that 52% of bettors will place their best via mobile apps or websites, some of which accept credit cards as a payment method.
  • About one in seven Americans say they won money betting on the Super Bowl last year, while nearly 1 in 10 lost money. This year, most bettors will wager less than $100.

“While many Americans had a little extra cash in the bank last year at this time thanks to reduced spending and some government stimulus, most people have likely burned through that cushion,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s credit card expert in a news release. “That may prompt more people to take a little more low-key approach to watching the game.”

To view the full report, visit here.

Methodology
LendingTree commissioned Qualtrics to conduct an online survey of 2,097 consumers from Jan. 11-14, 2022. The survey was administered using a nonprobability-based sample, and quotas were used to ensure the sample base represented the overall population. All responses were reviewed by researchers for quality control.

Source: LendingTree