In the days leading up to kickoff, users of Fliff, a popular mobile gaming app, placed more than 200,000 “bets” on last month’s NFL conference championship games. They bet on Patrick Mahomes throwing for at least 240 yards, on Christian McCaffrey scoring the first touchdown and on the usual array of money line, point spread and over-under offerings. They did it, in many cases, without verifying their age or even spending a dollar.

When the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers face off at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11, they will compete for football's highest honor at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It was unthinkable because, for many years, professional sports teams, including the NFL, refused to go anywhere near Las Vegas, thanks to its seedy reputation.

With 35 states and Washington, D.C., operating in the gaming sphere in some capacity, the industry contributes nearly $329 billion to the U.S. economy each year, supports 1.8 million jobs and generates $52.7 billion in tax revenue, according to the AGA.

This year’s edition features high flyers from different facets of the industry, including Fontainebleau’s Jeffrey Soffer, Pavilion’s Chris Justice, Playtech’s Mor Weizer, UNLV’s Brett Abarbanel and many more.

ESPN, which launched a $1.5 billion, 10-year deal with Penn Entertainment for a legal sports betting app this month in 17 states, announced a collaboration with UNLV’s International Gaming Institute (IGI) to study responsible sports betting practices and an analysis of media impact.

The grant will help the school develop a “pioneering” program dedicated to the study of the intersection of sports betting and the media.

As Penn Entertainment gets ready to push the launch button on ESPN BET, the network is ensuring that it becomes a thought leader in responsible gaming by partnering with UNLV on RG research.

ESPN collaborates with UNLV's International Gaming Institute (IGI) for responsible sports betting research.