The national bet: Billions and growing

The numbers are staggering.

And impossible to confirm.

But the intelligent estimate is that 200 million people throughout the world have placed bets totaling $5 billion on a football game that’s scheduled to be played this evening in Miami.

Not all of the money, of course, has been wagered legally, which is one of the reasons it’s impossible to get a handle on the handle for Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.

Full story: The national bet: Billions and growing. | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/07/2010