Once the Supreme Court paved the way for the States to legalize sports betting back in 2018, many States have already built their own framework (33 states as well as D.C.) and legalized sports betting in some capacity.
Five years since it became legalized, over $220 billion worth of bets have been placed, leading to billions in tax revenues for the States themselves.
AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark said that “repealing the PASPA law back in 2018 didn’t mean betting began. It simply means Americans have more access now on each state level.”
How advertising is troubling in sports betting
With the repeal, the past five years have had a slew of aggressive advertising as sportsbooks and operators work to get their users signed up and locked in before their competitors have a chance.
It has also led to some interesting expansion on the type of bets allowed, such as parlays, which are essentially multiple combination bets that are extremely risky and also proudly promoted with celebrities giving their endorsements.
What’s not happening enough is responsible gambling, and Clark adds, “The small print and numbers at the bottom of the ads aren’t enough.”
AGA recently updated its Responsible Marketing Code, working to eliminate words that give the idea of being ‘risk-free’ in advertising.
States are also following suit when it comes to combatting advertising that could be deemed inappropriate or troubling. For example, Ohio was one of the first states to start finding sports books in January, up to around $150,000.
Sportrader COO and President for North America, Andrew Bimson, has mentioned that “advertising continues to revolve around responsible gaming more often these days. As a result, they’re offering better advertising than they did in the past.”
Colleges in relation to sports betting
Part of the AGA update included pieces focused on protection with those that are college-aged.
Clark adds here, “Getting an operator’s license takes a lot of effort and responsibility, meaning that the market is heading towards maturity. That means it’s necessary for a level of accountability, especially when it comes to how advertising is handled towards the target market audience.”
This led to partnerships between sports books and universities coming to an end. The University of Colorado was one of the more recent cases, canceling its relationship with PointsBet. This separation is key when it comes to those offering college sports betting.
Sports betting and integrity
Betting integrity is always a topic of discussion, now more than ever, due to the sheer volume of sports betting happening in the states. More recently, we hear of a baseball coach in Alabama being fired due to what appeared to be suspicious bets. Even in April, six players were suspended in the NFL because of a breach of gambling and the NFL’s policy on it.
Even at the close of the year, there were provinces in Canada pausing bets placed on UFC matches due to what was deemed irregularities.
This can be seen as a great development as the industry continues evolving and growing. Sam Panayotovich, a betting analyst at NESN, says that “without these regulations, no one will be caught. The people getting caught now were probably doing it illegally in the past with no oversight and could have been doing it for decades. Now with this oversight, there’s a way to catch and stop them.”
Some classic examples are the Pete Rose scandal that took two years to catch him, or even Tim Donaghy, who was an NBA referee in the past who wasn’t caught for around four years due to no regulations on it.
Brimson goes on to add, “Look at the past, and you’ll definitely find much larger scandals that we’re seeing in the past three years or show. That’s the difference between lack of regulation and the regulations we see today.”
When will all of the United States have legalized Sports Betting?
The AGA reported huge figures at the end of 2022, with all the forecasts only growing. This is without some of the largest states by GDP included in these figures.
Of course, we’re talking about Florida, Texas, and California, which have a combined GDP of over $7 trillion.
Panayotovich added, “These are three huge states ready to boost the numbers to new highs as soon as they find the right path towards regulation.”
To offer an example of how big the forecast could go up when New York finally legalized online sports betting back in early 2022, the revenues for the year soared over 61% year over year.
California came close at the end of 2022, but as Bimson speculates, “California is influenced heavily by its tribal communities, but to expect regulation at the latest by 2026.” But, he added, “Operators are taking a breather now anyway, as there was a huge rush when markets started to open up.”
Is Las Vegas done, then?
Las Vegas has taken everything in stride and is booming more than ever.
Clark summarizes it nicely by saying, “We’re talking about two different experiences here, where one is about placing a bet online on your couch, and the other is heading to Vegas for a truly unique experience. It all depends on the reasoning and what people want and are looking for.”
In fact, with less of a stigma happening with sports betting, it’s actually enabled Las Vegas to finally get themselves some professional sports teams, such as the Raiders from the NFL, the Golden Knights from the NHL, and even the ACES from the WNBA.
It doesn’t stop there, with Formula 1 having a Grand Prix there (the first ever) and the Super Bowl being hosted there in 2024.
Bimson added, “This would have been a good joke for everyone if it was mentioned half a decade ago that this would happen in Las Vegas. Now it’s on the global scale, especially with Formula One making a pitstop there.”
Panayotovich says, “Sports betting becoming legalized only helped legitimize Las Vegas as a perfect location for sports itself. This itself is worth much more than losing out on some bets here and there in the long run.”
