Gambling activities have never been such a hot topic in the USA before, and the discussions about betting on sports, playing poker, and casino games started to intensify because of the ever-growing number of states that started to change course.
Sports play a pivotal role in the lives of Americans, and practicing and watching sports is one of the best-liked pastimes of one and all. Americans’ thirst for sports has not gone unnoticed by bookmakers, and they go out of their way to come up with new and innovative ways to exploit their enthusiasm. Sportsbooks can now hype their services on social media and broadcasts, thus making it more likely to attract fresh blood.
How Does The US Sports Betting Market Look Today
The industry’s expansion began back in 2018 when the Supreme Court overturned the law, which prohibited sports betting. In spite of the fact that up until recently, Nevada was the only state to which legal betting on sports was confined, today, punters can bet on sports in around 30 territories.
That being said, not all of these states have come up with legislation, which authorizes betting on sports over the Internet. It is interesting to point out that today, approximately 45% of all sports bets are placed over the Internet, and experts expect that this tendency will remain.
According to the available data, back in 2020, the revenues the sports betting industry has generated across all 14 states where such activities are legalized, went well above $1 billion.
Experts consider that the market is unlikely to slow pace in the years to come, and they expect that in 2023, the revenues will hit $6 billion. Say nothing of the revenues that can be generated if all 50 states authorize betting on sports.
It is interesting to point out that the amount gamblers staked on sports in June 2018 was $310 million. It can safely be said that the industry has been developing rapidly since 2018, as in October 2021, the amount gambling enthusiasts have staked exceeded $7 million.
As it turns out, the Coronavirus pandemic has also contributed to the recent development of the US sports betting market, and figures show that it started to mature even quicker after its outbreak. Another thing, which is worth mentioning is that mobile betting on sports has quickly started to take the lead in the lion’s share of the states where sports betting is legalized.
This is exactly the case in states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, among others.
Where Is Betting on Sports Legal Today
After the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was struck down by the Supreme Court, the gambling industry started to develop at an unseen pace, and the legalization of betting on sports now spreads through more and more territories across the US. As we explained already, today, punters are wagering more money than ever before, and the amounts staked on sports from January to February last year saw a two-fold increase in comparison with 2020.
Today, sports betting is still illegal in California, but if such activities are authorized in the state, its market is expected to boom. New Jersey is yet another state, which is poised for exceptional growth, and figures show that the state has already surpassed Nevada in terms of the amounts wagered on sports. Interestingly enough, Pennsylvania was the first US state, which introduced online betting on sports.
There are several states where legislative changes are already afoot, and Ohio legalized betting on sports in the first days of 2022. The maximum number of licenses that can be issued within the borders of the state is 25, but this number is expected to grow in the future. This year, betting on sports will become available also in Louisiana and Maryland.
Four out of the five sportsbooks that are licensed in New York are already available to punters. Yet, it is still unclear when the rest of the betting platforms will be accessible. Arizona is among the biggest US states where online sports betting, and licenses can be granted to the Native American tribes, as well as professional sports outlets. Although Colorado legalized online betting on sports back in 2020, there are already more than 20 betting sites that accept users from that territory.
Connecticut is a state with a rather small size, which goes to explain why it only has three sports betting sites. Some of the other states that have already made online betting on sports legal include Iowa, New Hampshire, Montana, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, among others.
