A new NFL season kicks off Thursday night, to the great interest of sports bettors across the country.

An American Gaming Association study found that an estimated 46.6 million Americans — a record number of people that accounts for 18 percent of the adult population — plan to bet on football during the 2022 NFL season. That number is up 3 percent year-over-year.

The study also found that about half of those planning to bet, 23 million, will place a bet online this season, as opposed to in person at a sportsbook or through a bookie.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the law that prohibited state-sponsored sports betting in 2018, 36 states and Washington, D.C. have moved to legalize it in their jurisdictions.

“The sustained interest in NFL wagering reflects the growth and continued maturation of legal sports betting across the country,” AGA president and CEO Bill Miller said in a news release. “Consumers clearly want legal sports betting options and understand the regulated industry’s foundational commitments to responsibility.”

–Field Level Media