A president afraid to turn up because he expects a capacity crowd to scream insults, a Puerto Rican superstar being stalked by ICE immigration enforcers during the fabled half-time show, the return of America’s most divisive team–think peak Chelsea under José Mourinho–and a betting landscape laid waste by prediction market disruptors: Welcome to this Sunday’s Super Bowl LX.
Has there ever been a more contentious American Football World Championship being contested by six-times winners, the New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks, who have only won the storied Vince Lombardi trophy once, in 2014.
At the start of this 2025-26 NFL season few would have bet on either the Patriots or Seahawks making the final at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
But bet they will. Big time. Led by prediction markets, with the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimating legal wagers of around US$1.76 billion (£1.29bn) and the Sports Betting Alliance coming in at a slightly more conservative US$1.71 billion.
Make a Killing
Whether the AGA–still reeling after being abandoned by several top flight iGaming sportsbooks, among them FanDuel and DraftKings–considers prediction market action legitimate is not clear.
Yet one thing’s for sure: The off-shore, unregulated, market will also make a killing, as it does every Super Bowl, raking-in at least another billion dollars in clandestine wagers.
Somewhat surprisingly the Patriots–sans legendary quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick, the men who built the New England dynasty–are not favourites to win, even though their offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels–who worked so effectively with G.O.A.T. Brady–returned to the team in 2025 and helped create a new on-field general and elite passer in the striking form of much-touted Drake Maye.
Some bets, believe it, are even being taken on the likelihood of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, winner of this year’s top Best Album Grammy, and a vocal critic of anti-migrant policies, being arrested at the Super Bowl by the controversial U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents – not to be confused, most definitely, with the more pacific ICE iGaming event in Barcelona.
King of Latin Trap
Bad Bunny–full name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, also known as the “King of Latin Trap”, is headlining the iconic Half Time Show, and we can expect some hot criticism of the Trump administration’s heavy-handed policing in a number of U.S. cities, among them Minneapolis, Chicago and Seattle, the home of the Seahawks.
Perhaps this explains why President Trump will not be attending the flag-waving event in person.
Meantime, while opponents of prediction markets, worried about sporting integrity, have been unable to ban the disruptors from taking “contracts” on Super Bowl outcomes, they have managed to block Kalshi, Polymarket and the like, placing ads at the football championship event.
There are no such holds on traditional sportsbook operators, who will be able to run commercials during Super Bowl LX (60).
Fanatics Sportsbook, for example, will air a 30-second ad at half-time featuring Kendall Jenner of Kardashian family fame.
Seahawks For Sale
Flutter’s FanDuel, the top U.S. online sportsbook, is rumoured also to have bought a US$10 million (£7.38m) 30-second pre-kickoff ad slot in what may become the most watched event in U.S. history, drawing some 130 million viewers nationally, and over 200 million worldwide.
And the odds don’t stop here.
Lose or win the Seattle Seahawks are expected to be sold – and perhaps set a new record for the sale of an NFL team.
With a young coach, Mike Macdonald, aged only 38, and a 28-year-old quarterback, Sam Darnold, the Seahawks are effectively an off-the-shelf ready-made outfit and could dominate their National Football Conference (NFC) for years to come.
Winning the Super Bowl for the second time–and avenging their narrow 28-24 defeat to the very same New England Patriots rivals at Super Bowl XLIX (49) in 2015–would add billions to their value.
Super Bowl LX, unlike any other in the history of the world’s richest single sporting event.
And it hasn’t even kicked-off.
