Sports gambling has soared during the pandemic and continues to climb

A growing number of Americans are trying their luck at online sports gambling this year, with the 2021 Super Bowl and NCAA March Madness drawing billions more dollars in wagers than last year's games.

Gamblers placed $4.3 billion in bets on Super Bowl LV, marking "the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history," the American Gaming Association estimated. In sports betting, a "handle" refers to the total amount of money wagered by bettors. About 7.6 million people placed bets on the game through platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings, a 63% increase from 2020.  Meanwhile, more than 47 million Americans have placed bets on March Madness, the association said. The number of online bets on the tournament has tripled since 2019.