The Super Bowl has set new records in the world of betting.

The hosting of the 38th Super Bowl became a big deal for the world of casino betting in Las Vegas, establishing new benchmarks.
Official casino betting reports confirmed that $81,7 million was wagered by people who watched the game between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers.
The $12,5 million in profits generated by bets placed at specialized and state-licensed Nevada betting houses also set a new record, according to official reports.
The betting interest generated by the game, won 32-29 by the Patriots with a field goal by Adam Vinatieri with nine seconds remaining, surpassed the 1998 final, which generated $77,2 million in bets.
The results were provided by the Nevada State Gaming Commission, which oversees 152 betting-taking establishments, and showed an increase of more than 10 percent compared to the previous year's Super Bowl, held in San Diego.
Despite all betting predictions favoring the Patriots from the start by a 7-point margin and a final combined score of 38 points, the way the game unfolded, with an explosion of offensive play in the fourth quarter when 37 points were scored, also fueled greater interest in trying one's luck until the very end.
In fact, the combined 61 points of the game were a surprise because it was expected to be a great defensive duel.
However, the average 15,3 percent who left the casinos was lower than the 16,3 percent of the 2001 Super Bowl, when 67,7 million people bet on the winner of the game.
Since the total amount wagered was lower, the profits were also lower, amounting to $11,2 million.
These differences compared to this year's Super Bowl game occurred because the NFL prohibited casinos from showing the game on big screens and holding private parties during it.
However, the $81,7 million was higher than last year's Super Bowl's $71,6 million, with profits of $5,2 million, or an average of 7,32 percent.
Super Bowl bets are the most significant for a single game, but throughout the year, across various NFL and college tournament games, the total amount wagered in Las Vegas is $830 million, according to official Nevada state reports.
But the figures offered by the Nevada State Gaming Commission are insignificant compared to the amount left by illegal gambling across the country, which exceeded $4 billion last year.
Through internet websites alone, more than 344.000 people registered searching for where to bet on the Super Bowl.
The advent of the internet has given people who run illegal gambling operations from their homes the best tool they could possibly have, because they no longer have to risk going out to find clients.
A federal government study conducted by the National Commission on the Impact of Gambling established that 85 percent of Americans have gambled at some point.
The same source estimated that between 80 and 380 billion dollars are moved annually in the country by people involved in illegal online gambling. (EFE News Agency)