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Virus may reduce total Super Bowl bets, but online to surge

Wayne Parry/AP

FILE: This Sept. 9, 2018 file photo shows football fans waiting for kickoff in the sports betting lounge at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. A report released Feb. 2, 2021 by the American Gaming Association predicts fewer Americans will bet on this year's Super Bowl, a decrease driven largely by fewer people back at work in offices where betting pools are circulated. But the report also predicts a record amount will be wagered online this year. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, FILE)

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Here's one more thing the coronavirus pandemic has ruined for at least some people: betting on the Super Bowl.

The American Gaming Association predicts the number of people planning to make a bet on the big game will decrease this year.

That's because many people still haven't returned to work settings, where office pools are filled out, and because fewer plan to bet at in-person sports books including casinos and horse tracks.

Big Game Parties in Las Vegas | 2021

But Tuesday's report also predicts the rapid growth of legal sports betting in the U.S. should easily smash records in terms of the amount wagered online on the Super Bowl.

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