For North American facing sportsbooks, Super Bowl betting can make or break their year financially. The Superbowl betting event is the single biggest betting event among North American bettors and bookmakers and the second largest in the world behind only the Champions League soccer final. The Super Bowl is by far the single betting event in Nevada sports books—and no doubt for many offshore sports books and 'local' bookmakers.

Nevada based sports betting establishments release their wagering figures which, while just a fraction of the total amount wagering worldwide on the Super Bowl, can help explain the magnitude of money at stake. In 2010 NFL betting enthusiasts wagered $82.7 million on the Super Bowl at Nevada sportsbooks which earned a $6.9 million profit on the day’s wagering action. It's important to keep in mind that these 2010 figures were on the low side both in terms of the total amount of money handled as well as the amount of profit won or 'hold' in industry terms. In 2006, Nevada sports books took over $94.5 million in Super Bowl bets and held $8.8 million, or a profit of 9.3%.

The biggest profit in terms of both dollar amount and percentage of hold in the past decade or so came in 2005. That year Silver State sports books took $90.7 million worth of Super Bowl betting action and earned a profit of $15.4 million—or a whopping 17% hold. The worst year in recent times was 2008, when the New York Giants shocked the New England Patriots. Nevada sports books took in $92 million worth of action but lost $2.5 million for a net loss of -2.8%. The 2011 Super Bowl victory by the Green Bay Packers wasn't a particularly good year either, with most books right around break even. Statewide, sports books won less than $1 million on the game which represented only the second time in the past decade that the Super Bowl had resulted in less than a seven figure profit. In fact, in at least four of the past ten years the Nevada sports betting industry has enjoyed a profit in excess of $10 million from the Super Bowl.

To understand just how huge Superbowl betting is we can do a bit of estimation. Most experts suggest that the amount of money wagered on sports in Nevada is less than 5% of the total amount bet in the United States. Some suggest that Nevada sports betting represents as little as 2% of the total, but for the sake of argument we'll assume the 5% figure is correct. Assuming that the percentage breakdown for the Super Bowl is the same that would translate to a total well in excess of $1.5 billion bet on the game nationwide. Factor in legal betting in Europe and elsewhere, and its evident that betting on the Super Bowl 2012 represents a monumental financial stake.

After Super Bowl betting, the most significant betting event for Nevada sportsbooks—as well as US facing offshore books—is the NCAA basketball tournament though it obviously isn't a one day event. Betting on the NCAA Final Game may actually be less than the highest profile college football game of the year, the BCS Championship Game.