MONTREAL, Feb. 3, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- With the Super Bowl only a few days away, BetUS.com readies itself for the biggest wagering weekend on record. According to officials reporting on MSNBC.com, more than $1 billion will be bet on New England and Philadelphia. BetUS.com expects to take in over 30,000 wagers in the upcoming days.
"After conducting an informal survey of industry leaders, legal offshore bookmakers alone expect to see more than $1 billion in wagers," says Mike Foreman, spokesperson for BetUS.com.
According to Foreman, published reports have grossly underestimated the size of the offshore gaming industry from the very beginning, and the Super Bowl is no exception. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be exchanged with street corner bookies, while others will head to Vegas, placing millions more on this weekend's game. Nonetheless, the amount wagered with online gaming companies will easily dwarf the money being bet elsewhere.
"Online wagering is increasing in popularity," Foreman said. "BetUS.com saw an increase of almost 60% in betting turnover in 2004, with Super Bowl Sunday being our biggest betting day of the year. We expect this year's growth to be right around 100 per cent."
With more than an estimated $1 billion offshore wagers to be bet on this year's Super Bowl, it's obvious that gambling and football, together, is now an accepted part of American entertainment. According to Foreman, professional sports leagues have a vested interest in gambling. He suggested that, "the more bets placed on a game, the more people will want to watch. In turn, the demand for television games increases, sports leagues get more from selling broadcast rights, and the leagues and owners make more money."
"Gambling drives the growth in popularity of sports," says Foreman. "Gamblers and wagering should be embraced by the NFL, and the league should stop pretending it doesn't like gambling. The NFL posts injury reports. This information is then used to set the point spread, which is the primary tool used today in NFL betting."
Foreman concluded that Americans don't have to look far to see the relationship between the two and to see how the NFL turns the other cheek.
"Odds are printed in every major newspaper in the U.S., and the NFL knows it," Foreman said. "Football would not be the mega-industry it is today without gambling."
BetUS.com (http://www.BetUS.com) is one of the oldest and most respected legal online sports betting organizations in the world and is licensed and bonded in two recognized gaming jurisdictions - Canada and Costa Rica. Employing over 500 people, BetUS.com provides a safe and secure place for sports wagering to more than 100,000 clients. Members can enjoy wagering on some of their favorite sports including: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf and boxing. BetUS.com has been in operation for 11 years and also offers Vegas-style casino games and interactive poker.