08/02/2026
Does the Super Bowl increase human trafficking in host city?
https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/news/2025/does-the-super-bowl-increase-human-trafficking-in-host-city.aspx
Highlights of the article:
“Most of the recent research around this issue has shown it is far more myth than reality,” said Joan Reid, professor of criminology at USF St. Petersburg. “Sex trafficking occurs in the dark and is kind of hidden. Around the Super Bowl, everyone turns on their flashlights and starts looking.”
“When trafficking happens, those who spot it are ready to call law enforcement, and law enforcement is ready to apprehend suspects, but that doesn’t mean there are more cases. What is increasing is the awareness of this issue around the Super Bowl,” Reid said.
What is true is that Florida and the Tampa Bay region have higher incidents of this illegal activity than most places in the United States. In its 2024 Trafficking in Persons report, the U.S. Department of State estimated that 27 million people worldwide were victims of human trafficking. A majority of those victims were trapped in s*x trafficking activities, with a high percentage in Florida.
“Florida ranks third in the country behind California and Texas, based on data from the National Human Trafficking hotline and the Polaris Project,” Grosholz said.
The state’s high ranking is attributed to a number of reasons. Florida is a tourism destination, bringing in an influx of people throughout the year. There is a large degree of poverty in the state, while the warm weather attracts populations of migrant workers, creating a vulnerable population that traffickers can ensnare. And Tampa Bay has a large adult s*x industry, pulling in s*x workers and people coming to town for s*x tourism.
It is these persistent conditions and vulnerabilities, not incidents tied to any one event, that has led the University of South Florida to establish the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Risk to Resilience Research Lab.
“The heightened awareness of this issue around the Super Bowl isn’t a bad thing, but we need to keep in mind that this happens every day in our cities and town, and we need to combat it in that way,” [Jennifer] Grosholz, an associate professor of criminology at USF Sarasota-Manatee said.
