The legalized sports betting is showing signs of rapid growth in the United States ever since that landmark Supreme Court verdict which lifted the long-standing ban on such activities in the United States.
As per the American Gaming Association (AGA), the legalized sports gambling revenue crossed the $ 10 billion mark recently in July 2019. This can be termed as tremendous growth since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was scrapped by the US Supreme Court in May 2018. However, this is less than 7% of the minimum estimate of $ 150 billion of sports betting money that illegally exchanges hands in the United States each year. Everyone expects the figures to grow even more in 2019 and 2020, with more number of US states legalizing sports betting.
Nevada continues to lead
Apart from Nevada, where the majority of Vegas bets online these days, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Arkansas have also legalized sports betting. Iowa came on board very recently in August 2019, and Indiana would have also joined in September by the time this article gets published!
Nevada continues to be a dominant force in the legalised sports betting industry, with New Jersey rapidly catching up. Over $ 5.3 billion was bet legally on sports since PASPA was struck down in Nevada, with New Jersey contributing $ 3.5 billion of sports betting business since that time.
New Jersey catching up fast
A major reason why New Jersey’s volumes have been so high is that the state enables people to wager money on sports events through their mobile phones. Over 85% of New Jersey’s punters place their bets on the Internet. The other states mostly provide retail gambling services which make it mandatory for the gamblers to travel to a brick and mortar facilities to place their wagers.
New York is also yet to catch up with the mobile gambling trend and despite the fact it has great potential, only 10% to 15% of the market is being tapped currently. Things are not going to change much in NY until the state offers mobile sports betting and gambling opportunities to the punters. Florida, Texas, and California also have huge potential, however, no such legislation has been passed in those states yet. In fact, Florida might come in last as it’s one of the states that hasn’t even given the subject a thought till now.
Illegal sports betting will continue to coexist
The way things stand right now, illegal sports betting operations are not going to go away anytime soon. Placing bets with conventional bookies offers a lot of conveniences as those transactions are largely based on credit. In the majority of the cases, the person betting with an illegal bookie doesn’t need to pay up their losses till they both reach an agreeable level. Although there is plenty of conveniences involved, you won’t have any legal recourse if the bookie went broke or suddenly left town.
