Sports betting in New Jersey has proved to be a success, with more than $3.5 billion bet since the ... [+]
Legalized sports gambling is growing slowly in the United States since the Supreme Court’s landmark lifting the federal ban on sports.
The legal sports gambling handle passed the $10 billion mark in July, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). That represents significant growth since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was struck down in May of 2018.
This represents less than seven percent of the minimum estimation of $150 billion that is bet illegally in the United States, but these numbers will grow quite a bit in 2019 and future years as more states take the step to give their residents the chance to bet on sports.
In addition to Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, West Virginia, Delaware, Rhode Island, New York, Arkansas and New Mexico (tribal only) have legalized sports gambling.
Legalized gambling in Iowa became a reality in August, and Indiana will come on board in September.
Nevada is still the dominant force when it comes to legalized sports gambling, with New Jersey a strong second. More than $5.3 billion has been bet legally on sports since the fall of PASPA in Nevada, while the AGA reports that $3.5 billion has been bet in New Jersey since that time.
One of the primary reasons the volume has been so high in New Jersey is that it allows participants to register on mobile platforms and bet through the internet. More than 85 percent of New Jersey’s handle is bet online, while other states only offer retail gambling that require gamblers to go to a facility and physically place their bets.
That’s the situation in New York, and while that state has a vast potential for gambling revenue, it is estimated that just 10-15 percent of its market is being reached. That is not likely to change until the Empire State offers mobile gambling opportunities.
California, Texas and Florida also represent huge potential sports gambling markets, but those states have not passed any legislation to this point. Florida may be one of the last states to come on board, because that state legislature is one of eight states that has not even considered the subject to this point.
Illegal sports gambling is not likely to go away any time in the foreseeable future. The ease of making a bet with a bookie is a big advantage, since that avenue is based largely on credit.
In most cases, those betting with an outside bookie don’t have to pay their losses until they reach an agreed upon level — $500 or $1,000 is common.
That’s clearly a convenience for the bettor, but if the bookie suddenly left town or went out of business, the bettor would have little recourse if there are profits to be paid out.
Illegal bookies have also regularly taken advantage of online tools to track their clients’ bets, and that has put an end to all disputes and claims that a bet was recorded incorrectly.
The sports gambling market has the potential to grow dramatically as more states consider legalization. One of the aspects that could increase the sports gambling market is in-game betting. This allows the bettor to see changing odds as a game progresses, and the opportunity to make a bet after kickoff in a football game or the first pitch in a baseball game.
For example, if the Chicago Bears build a 21-point lead on the Green Bay Packers early in the third quarter of their Week 1 NFL game, a gambler who is willing to take a chance on the Packers registering a comeback and winning the game could get a huge payoff for such a successful long-shot bet.
That type of bet was almost never offered in the past by traditional bookmakers who would stop taking bets as soon as games kicked off.
The Supreme Court struck down the ban on sports gambling, and have started to take advantage of this potential windfall. Nevada remains at the top of the mountain but New Jersey has shown that a huge market is available as long as states are willing to apply modern methods to the practice and make it easier for potential sports bettors to wager their money.
