In 2003, a team of marketers for the city of Las Vegas were ready to debut their soon-to-be iconic “What Happens Here, Stays Here” advertising campaign. And they turned to a natural platform for the launch — the Super Bowl. But the NFL, seeking to distance itself from the capital of and only legal outlet for sports betting, said no way. 

Fast forward 21 years and sports betting is legal in 38 states, the NFL has countless partnerships with sports books, and the Super Bowl is coming to Vegas. 

So how did we get here? 

ESPN’s John Barr has been working with his colleagues at Outside the Lines to gauge the state of American sports betting in 2024. And today, as billions of dollars in Super Bowl bets roll in, he tracks how sports books have become a bigger and bigger part of the fan experience and whether or not we truly understand the costs.

Note: ESPN launched ESPN Bet in partnership with Penn Entertainment in November 2023.

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