GAMBLING
THE STATE OF PLAY IN THE US SPORTS GAMBLING MARKET
Nicole-Robyn Caldwell, International Sales Manager at Because We Can Media, the leading digital marketing agency for sportsbook, gambling, and Esports clients worldwide, previews the US sports gambling market for 2021. In 2018, U.S. states secured the power to legalise sports betting. Approaching three years on from that historical ruling, what is the situation in the country’s multi-billion-dollar betting market and how influential will gambling be in shaping the U.S. sporting industry? What is the current situation with U.S. sports gambling? “Until 2018, Nevada was the only state allowed to offer sports betting, legally. At the start of 2020; 14 states legalised and launched sports betting. Some states allow sports betting online and at physical sites; some do not allow online wagering; others permit sports betting only at specific casinos. However, COVID-19 has had an unfortunate effect on the mobile betting opening up in states, as most legislation sessions were delayed, cancelled, or postponed indefinitely. “Sports betting is currently legal in over two-dozen states and this is positioned
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to increase as the year progresses and delayed legislation has been resumed. As a result of the pandemic’s impact, with many states struggling after Covid-19, they are likely to need to reap the benefit from gambling institutions’ taxes. “Legislation is likely to open up again for online gambling. For example, previously, legalised gambling in Texas
What opportunities are there to market U.S. sports gambling? How influential will gambling be in shaping U.S. sports earnings? “The one thing that sets the sports industry apart from any other, is the fans. Sports play a hugely important role in society globally, uniting people from all backgrounds with one common interest
“Sports betting is currently legal in over twodozen states and this is positioned to increase as the year progresses and delayed legislation has been resumed” would have been impossible for the highly conservative state. The Texas Legislature only meets every two years, and a lot has changed since they last met in 2019. Many of their neighbouring states have changed legislation, putting pressure on Texas to do the same. If successful, Texas will be the largest sports betting market in the U.S.”
and shaping memories with sporting moments from a young age. During the pandemic, many have seen sports as a welcome distraction and this has largely been reflected in the uplift in global sports betting. In 2020, the global sports betting industry reached a market size of $203 billion and sports betting revenue
