$10 Billion Will Bet on March Madness Illegally

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The US Supreme Court is just a few weeks away from deciding on the New Jersey law to challenge the ruling that allows sports betting legal just in four states including Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon. For a lot of experts, if the ruling works on New Jersey’s favor, this could mean plenty of revenue opportunities especially for both casinos and state governments.
In a study conducted recently, it has been discovered that 54 million people, or around a quarter of the US adult population participated in some form of sports betting last year. That is an equivalent spending of around $18 billion. 24 million went for basketball and spent around $2.6 billion on entry fees.

Not a Priority to Implement the Law

The reality is that two-thirds of the US states make it illegal to participate in any type of sports betting wherein money is involved. However, implementation of the law is another story. It has been said that enforcing the law isn’t a priority for law enforcement.
According to the CEO of American Gaming Association, Geoff Freeman, “Our current sports betting laws are so out of touch with the reality that we’re turning tens of millions of Americans into criminals for the simple act of enjoying college basketball”.
He added that “The failed federal ban on sports betting has created an illegal, unregulated sports betting market that offers zero consumer protections and generates zero revenue for state and tribal organizations”.
Just how much is going to legal channels of the expected $10 billion wagered on the games? Freeman said that there will only be 3% of the entire $10 billion wager going through the legal Nevada sports book. That amounts to only around $300 million.

The Advent of Sports Betting

The group counted that there are 48 sports betting legislations that are active in a total of 18 states in different parts of the US. All of which are anticipating towards a favorable Supreme Court ruling on legal sports betting.
So what if sports betting is finally legalized? Freeman expects that there will be different types of products to be introduced in the market once legalization takes place. Also, there will be increased betting opportunities on events that are within a game and not just on the final score or statistics.
He mentioned that “There’s a lot of money that’s going to innovation that’s currently sitting on the sidelines”.

A Good or a Bad News?

Could this actually be a cause for concern? If you will ask The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, “sports betting is a cause for concern”. Though the group has been neutral on gambling, the group has already made contact with lawmakers from New Jersey in order to discuss the needs that will eventually rise in demand once sports betting has been legalized.
Neva Pryor, who is the group’s executive director mentioned that “Sports betting may have more appeal to our children, it has the potential to affect the integrity of the games, and it may put many more people at risk for problem and disordered gambling”