Massachusetts Regulators Approve Bets on Super Bowl Coin Toss

^{A freshly minted official game coin for Super Bowl LIX can now be the subject of prop bets in Massachusetts. (Image: Julian Leek / Alamy Live)}

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to allow sportsbooks to offer bets on the Super Bowl coin toss, a traditional area of prop betting for the NFL’s title game.

The vote represents a reversal from a year ago, when the commission took up the same issue but voted 3-2 against the proposal. 

Approval Came Without Request from Sportsbook Operators

According to commissioners, there were no sportsbooks operating in Massachusetts who had asked for the coin toss bets to be authorized. However, it didn’t take long for at least one site to take advantage of the offering, with DraftKings putting up even-money bets on the allowable markets. 

Bettors in Massachusetts can now bet on whether Sunday’s coin toss will result in heads or tails, whether the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles will win the toss, whether the visiting team will correctly call the flip, and whether the coin toss winner goes on to win the game.

Those who supported the change essentially said it was a low-risk market that has at least some popularity among gamblers. 

“I think it is something that a certain segment of the market is looking for,” Commissioner Paul Brodeur, the newest member of the MGC, said. “My sense is that it is very safe, not something that can be gamed.”

Commissioner Brad Hill said he was inspired to bring the issue up again this year so close to the Super Bowl after an experience he had while working as a basketball referee.

“Usually when you’re running up and down the court, you’re getting yelled at because you made a bad call,” Hill said. “Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was running up and down the court and someone yelled from the stands, ‘Are we going to be able to bet on the coin flip at the Super Bowl?’ So I stopped immediately, looked right at him, and he was as serious as serious could be.”

Massachusetts Still Not All-In on Super Bowl Props

The MGC didn’t go as far in allowing prop bets as many other states with legalized sports betting have gone for the Super Bowl. In some jurisdictions, bettors can wager on everything from the color of Gatorade that will be dumped on the winning coach and the length of the national anthem to cross-sports wagers, such as predicting whether Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin will get more shots on goal on Sunday than the total number of field goals made by the Eagles and Chiefs. (Ovechkin is a -150 favorite.)

Commissioners Eileen O-Brien and Nakisha Skinner both voted against allowing coin flip betting in Massachusetts, the same votes they made when the issue was raised a year ago. Those objections were largely because no operator had made the request.

“We’ve had a number of non-compliance events where they’re not even sure what’s properly in the catalog or not,” O’Brien said. “I’m not exactly for adding more, especially when they haven’t asked for it.”

For those looking for more traditional bets on Super Bowl 59, the Chiefs are currently a 1-point favorite at most online sportsbooks. The Over/Under has been set at 48.5 points for the game.