Record bets expected on Super Bowl — one stock in particular may win
The 59th Super Bowl this Sunday is expected to attract a record number of betting dollars to legal sports gambling platforms, and that may boost shares of Caesars Entertainment , according to Bank of America. After all, the game’s being played at the 76,500-seat Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. BofA analyst Shaun Kelley cited data from the American Gaming Association in a Friday research report that forecasts sports betters in the U.S. will legally wager a record about $1.4 billion on Sunday’s game. The 2025 Super Bowl features the third-straight appearance by the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning champs, and is a rematch of Super Bowl 57 with the Philadelphia Eagles. For the second year in a row, viewer interest in the game is piqued by Taylor Swift’s planned attendance and her relationship with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. BofA noted that Swift’s attendance last year led to 7% more viewers tuning into Super Bowl 2024 from the year before. Sports books have leaned into her appearance and are offering special promotions that capitalize on Swift and Kelce. BofA is particularly optimistic on Caesars Entertainment given that the game is taking place at the stadium it paid to name, and that Caesars will be prominently displayed on television and is likely to promote its online sportsbook signup deals. CZR 1Y mountain Caesars Entertainment shares over the past year “Since the game is being held at the Caesars Superdome, the Caesars brand will likely get a lot of airtime, and the newly renovated New Orleans casino should benefit from increased activity around the game,” Kelley said. Nearly three quarters of analysts surveyed by FactSet rate Caesars the equivalent of a buy, and their consensus price target call for roughly 39% upside over the next 12 months. Shares have badly lagged the market over the past year, sliding 17%, although they’ve recently rebounded, climbing 8% over the past month. But Caesars Entertainment isn’t the only online gambling stock analysts are keeping an eye on ahead of the Super Bowl. Needham analyst Bernie McTernan listed DraftKings as a potential beneficiary as well, pointing to the company’s “King of the End Zone” betting promotion as a catalyst. In fact, DraftKings drove FanDuel operator Flutter Entertainment to introduce a similar incentive. Needham rates DraftKings a buy alongside a $60 per share price target, equating to about 42% upside from Friday’s close of Thursday’s $42.28. DKNG 1Y mountain DraftKings stock. “For Super Bowl promos, we are seeing more jackpot promos with others following DKNG’s King of the Court/King of the Endzone,” McTernan said. “Also, DKNG has been offering ‘happy hour’ promotions aimed at driving activity days ahead of the game.”
