$30 billion expected to be legally wagered on 2025 NFL season

WASHINGTON - Football fans are betting big—very big—on the the NFL.

What we know:

Americans are expected to wager an estimated $30 billion on the 2025 NFL season through legal U.S. sportsbooks, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). That represents an 8.5 percent increase over last year's estimate. 

Not only that, AGA Senior Vice President for Strategic Communications Joe Maloney told Fox 5 that this comes during a year in which no new legalized jurisdictions came online.

"In previous years, I’ve been able to talk to you about this and say, ‘well, we added X, Y, Z state, so there’s more Americans sitting and living in legalized jurisdictions.’ That’s not the case this year," Maloney said. "The growth really comes down to more Americans are choosing to increase their level of engagement."

Local perspective:

While the AGA didn't have Washington Commanders-specific gambling stats, Maloney did say that they typically see an increase in wagering in jurisdictions that are home to teams that make deep playoff runs.

"It’s more than likely that we can assume that there’s far more activity say on the Commanders as a futures bet than there was last year when they were at, you know, 400-to-1 to win the Super Bowl," he explained.

Big picture view:

The AGA is also reminding people to bet responsibly. They've posted more information about how to do that here.