SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — With the Super Bowl less than a week away, Americans are placing bets on their favorite to win, and it is big business for Iowa casinos.

Casinos in Iowa are readying themselves for people who are looking to wager on the biggest game in football.

“The Super Bowl will have a lot of people traveling, because it’s not quite legal in South Dakota. So, we have a lot of people from Sioux Falls coming in placing bets, people from Minnesota and Iowa,” said Taury Thoelke with Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort.

The American Gaming Association estimates that roughly 31.4 million people in the U.S. bet on the 2022 Super Bowl, wagering around $7.61 billion.

Before the weekend, some casinos are already seeing people bet on the Chiefs vs the Eagles.

“Things have been steady. we have a lot of bets coming in for the super bowl already and it’ll be on Sunday, so we expect to have a lot more bets Saturday and Sunday,” said Thoelke.

In 2021, Iowans wagered more $16.3 million. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Committee are expecting this year’s betting to be in the same ballpark.

“We see wide ranges of bets in the Super Bowl, anything from a dollar to thousands of dollars. A lot of that depends on the type of wagering that is taking place,” said Brian Ohorilko, the administrator with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Committee.

Since sports betting was legalized in Iowa in 2019, the Iowa Racing and Gaming board have seen a continuous rise in sports bettors. However, Ohorilko expects the numbers to be smaller than last year.

“We have started to see some decline this year as some of the market is settling and promotions that are being offered by sports books are starting to diminish some, but still wagering is still very popular among Iowans,” said Ohorilko.

Ohorilko said the Super Bowl and March Madness are the top events for sports wagering.