U.S. sports betting is big business

The magnitude of the US sports betting action was explored by NBC over the weekend, producing some interesting numbers.

* The Nevada Gaming Commission has revealed that $3.2 billion was wagered in sports bets in the state’s casinos in 2011. Of that amount, $1.34 billion or 41 percent was handled just for football.

* American Gaming Association figures show sports fans bet a record $98.9 million at Nevada casinos on Super Bowl XLVII. After paying out to bettors, Nevada sports books earned $7.2 million on 2013’s game.

* Extrapolating from Nevada data, the financial planning website Mint estimates that more than $8 billion is wagered every year on the Super Bowl alone, an estimated 200 million people making wagers on the outcome of the game worldwide.

* Between $60-70 billion is illegally wagered on college football each year according to CNBC.

* Thirty-three million Americans participate in fantasy football, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. The FSTA found that $1.18 billion changes hands between players through pools each year.

* Between $30-40 billion is illegally wagered on Major League Baseball each year, according to CNBC. Baseball is not as big as football because of the lack of point spreads.

* The FBI estimates that more than $2.5 billion is illegally wagered annually on the three-week March Madness post-season tournament each year.

* As much as 25 percent of illegal wagers placed on college basketball games each year comes during March Madness, according to CNBC.

* Sports book operators estimate $80 million to $90 million – less than 4 percent of the illegal take – is wagered on the NCAA tournament legally through Nevada’s 216 sports books, again according to the American Gaming Association.

* One in 10 Americans play March Madness brackets according the data-processing website, Wager Solutions.com.