(Newswire.net — June 21, 2021) — In 2018 the US Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on sports betting that had prohibited millions from engaging in the form of adult entertainment for years. The US, much like many nations, is primarily cautious of the negative effects sports betting can have on both gamblers and the sports themselves with gambling in the nation having historically been connected to mob violence and corruption. 2018 marked a momentous year, however, with states now being able to apply for sports betting legalization should they wish it.
In that same year, the first sportsbook was opened up in New Jersey at the Monmouth Park Racecourse at the hands of Dennis Drazin who was looking to improve revenues in the horseracing industry within which he played a key part. He opened his first sportsbook at the racecourse and while the horses get regular spectators watching the races, it is the 22 window sportsbook that offers betting options for a whole host of sports that is jam-packed. In Atlantic City, a similar thing happened also. Before the legalization of sports betting, the only options for gamblers included traveling to Vegas, scouting out a local bookie in a bar, or placing bets on offshore platforms. After the legalization and the opening of the Hard Rock Resort’s Sports Book, however, revenues in the industry quickly jumped to upwards of $25.2 in a single month.
It’s the realization that sportsbetting has the capability to generate tremendous amounts of income to governments and the acknowledgment of the fact that gamblers will inevitably find other ways and platforms where they can place their bets that are driving legalization in the states. But the US still has some way to go in regards to legalization even in the year 2021. Out of the 20 states where sports betting is permitted, only 12 of them permit the use of mobile betting. In 2019 FanDuel/PointsBet recorded income generated from online gambling revenues outperformed on-site revenues by over 400% and 800% for DraftKings/BetStars. It is a massively untapped market that is only progressively being explored today.
Inspiration from the UK
One only needs to take inspiration from the UK in order to see that this is a greatly missed opportunity for the States. The current UK online gambling market is valued at £5.6 billion, a mere tenth of the global market value of around £50 billion, and this is dominated by sports betting. Massive UK sports betting players are already beginning to take advantage of such a ripe and prosperous market. Juggernauts like William Hill and Ladbrokes are veterans in the industry and have already staked their claim on huge shares of the American industry. William Hill, after buying a Las Vegas bookmaker in 2012, is running the Monmouth Park sportsbook back in New Jersey and Ladbrokes and Coral have already done deals with casino giants and FoxSports to enter the US. Armed with sophisticated technology, knowledge of how the industry works, and years and years of experience, the US will be learning a lot from how the UK players conduct business whether they like it or not.
The UK has succeeded in regulating much of its sports betting to the point where match fixes and corruption are seldom heard of and many betting advertisements are subsidized with compulsory reminders to bet responsibly and legally. If the US is so concerned about the influence the practice has on its citizens, the UK is well poised to act as a great role model to them. In 2005 the Gambling Act was introduced which focused on “preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, and protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited”. This was again revisited in 2014 and active gambling authorities are cautious not to get complacent. The US is making some fumbles in their way of advertising sports betting with companies being able to sponsor entire teams, a practice that was stripped out of all UK sport just recently, and is expected to follow suit with Irish betting sites. It seems the UK has enforced stricter restrictions on sports betting advertising where the US is beginning to proliferate it, a direction that surely is contradictory to their ultimate aim. Further to this, many sports are against the legalization of sports betting in certain states in fear that it diverts revenue away from the sports itself and into the hands of the bookmaker. Sports bodies such as the NFL call for an agreement, which involves a percentage of the proceeds to be paid to the sport for providing the data and the entertainment that are crucial to the business in exchange for legalization and a cooperative relationship.
If the US wants to achieve legal but responsible betting across the board, it needs to carefully regulate the relationships between sports and bookmakers. Though the industry is lucrative and certainly profitable, the ultimate aim is to encourage safe and responsible practice. Lessons can definitely be learned from their British neighbors and safely growing the industry is among the first.