When millions cheer on their team during Sunday’s Super Bowl, more will be at stake than pride over nabbing the Vince Lombardi trophy. A record number will also be hoping to score big with their bets on the game. It is by far the most bet upon single sports event in the United States, according to the American Gaming Association. This year, an estimated 50.4 million American adults are expected to wager on Super Bowl LVII , when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs, according to an AGA survey . That’s a 61% increase from the record set in 2022. The bets are anticipated to total $16 billion, more than double last year’s projection, the survey found. It’s also the first time in history that the big game is being played in a state where sports betting is legal. Therefore, fans at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona can place wagers on their phones. The Eagles’ home state of Pennsylvania has legalized sports betting, but the Chiefs’ state of Missouri has not. Fans in Missouri will have to cross state lines to place a wager. Ahead of anticipated record-setting betting on the big game, CNBC Pro compiled a list of analysts’ favorite stocks in the space. The names were a member of Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF , VanEck Gaming ETF , and/or iBet Sports Betting & Gaming ETF . They also had a market cap of at least $1 billion and were rated a buy by at least 60% of the analysts who cover the stocks, according to FactSet. The names also have upside to the average price target of 10% or more and have at least 8 analysts with estimates on them, per FactSet. Here are those names. Of the gaming companies on the list, Caesars Entertainment has the most upside to the average analyst price target, 26.2%. Some 62% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. Caesars gaming empire includes Caesars Sportsbook, which came out of the company’s 2021 $4 billion acquisition of William Hill . Shares of Caesars are up nearly 27% this year. MGM Resorts follows with 23% upside to the average analyst price target. Nearly 67% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. The gaming company takes part in online sports betting via BetMGM, which it co-owns with Entain. MGM recently reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations. Shares are up more than 31% year to date. One non-sportsbook name on the list is global sports technology company Sportradar , which has the most potential upside of any stock at 26.8%. The Swiss-based firm, whose investors include NBA legend Michael Jordan, provides data and analytics to betting operators and sports leagues. SRAD YTD mountain Sportradar in 2023 It has partnerships with several sports organizations, including the National Basketball League and Major League Baseball, as well as sports-betting sites DraftKings and FanDuel. However, Sportradar doesn’t have exclusive rights to the National Football League’s official sports-betting data. Instead, it uses open-sourced data for NFL games. That means any sportsbook that has a relationship with the NFL must use its competitor, Genius Sports, which has the rights to the NFL data. Outside of the sports-betting arena, Sportradar also has contracts with major broadcasters to provide in-game statistics. That includes Fox Sports, which is broadcasting the Super Bowl. Lastly, VICI Properties also made the cut. The real estate investment trust, the Las Vegas Strip’s biggest property owner, announced in December it is taking full ownership of MGM Grand Las Vegas and Mandalay Bay properties. Caesars is also a tenant. The stock, which has gained nearly 6% so far this year, has 11% upside to the average analyst price target. Nearly 74% of analysts covering VICI rate it a buy. —CNBC’s Contessa Brewer contributed reporting.
