Where Are We Standing With U.S. Sports Betting?

Sports Betting Popularity Continues to Climb

Where Are We Standing With U.S. Sports Betting?
Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

A total of 34 states plus the District of Columbia offer mobile sports betting and/or retail (in-person) sports betting and there are plenty more that are either queued up to launch or are having serious discussions about legalizing it. If you want to know a little bit more about where we are, how we got here, and where we’re going with sports betting, then read on!

When Did Sports Betting Become Legal in the U.S.?

Sports betting has been legal in Nevada since 1949, but the question you’re really asking is when did it become legal in “regular states”. And while it would be hard to argue that Nevada, home of Sin City, is anything but a regular state, it no longer has a monopoly on legal sportsbooks.

That’s because New Jersey Governor Chris Christie decided to call bullshit and argued that Las Vegas -plus surrounding Clark County- had a huge leg up on New Jersey’s Atlantic City. Christie declared it was a competitive disadvantage and he wanted the playing field leveled.

So, he took it to court and ultimately handed the case off to his successor, newly elected governor Phil Murphy, challenging a law called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, also known as PASPA.

Without getting into the many layers of the case, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn PASPA, which meant the federal government was no longer in charge of legalizing sports betting. Now that PASPA was ruled unconstitutional, the individual states now had the right to regulate, legalize, and tax sports betting within the boundaries of their respective states.

New Jersey was naturally the first one to get on board the gravy train and allow their nine Boardwalk casinos to partner with third-party online sportsbooks to allow mobile sports betting. Once New Jersey and the other early adopters began raking in huge sums of cash via their cut of the sports betting profits, it wasn’t long before more and more legislators put their misgivings and ingrained prejudices aside to vote YES on sports betting.

It won’t be long before nearly all 50 states will offer US sports betting but if you live in Utah, you might want to seriously consider an offshore sportsbook because the holy rollers rule in Mormon Country and that’s not changing anytime soon.

Things to Know

People like their creature comforts and if you ever doubted this then all you need to know is that well over 90 percent of the sports bets placed are done via mobile or online betting. Yeah, it’s crazy to think that some dude sitting on his couch throwing back a couple of cold ones would prefer to bet over his mobile device or on his laptop versus running the risk of a DUI charge and driving to his local casino to make a bet. Hell, even if said dude was having a Coke and not a Bud, who wants to drive when they don’t have to, right? Hell, there’s a pizza company that made billions on this very concept despite serving a rather mediocre product.

Oh, and if you’re wondering which sports betting market is the biggest, that would be New York with a handle of roughly $1.5 billion a month. Yes, billion. Yes, a month. By the way, the handle means the total amount of bets placed, not won or lost.

So, if I bet $110 to win $100 on the Patriots and you bet $110 to win $100 on their opponents then the handle would be $220 while the revenue the bookie would make would be $10, assuming one side lost and the other covered ($110 collected – $100 paid = $10).

But here’s the thing, huge markets like California, Florida, and Texas are still wringing their hands over legalizing online sports betting. Why, you may ask? Well, Texas will eventually come around but they’re still influenced heavily by the Conservative Christians.

However, California and Florida have a politically powerful group that wants sports betting all to themselves without any third-party operators like DraftKings or FanDuel. That group is a formidable band of tribal nations that operate casinos in both states and don’t want anyone else offering online sports betting unless it’s them.

Those concerns will eventually be assuaged because there is too much money on the table for it not to be hashed out and negotiated at some point in the future.

Where Else Can I Bet?

Whether you’re in a state that has sports betting or not, you owe it to yourself to check out the best offshore sites. The United States is not the only country that has regulated online sportsbooks and stringent rules that must be adhered to operate.

The offshore sportsbooks often have more generous odds and bonuses while offering a much more extensive betting menu. The only caveat is that you must do your homework on these sites because they are not all created equally.

There are a handful of trusted offshore sportsbooks with a long track record of superior customer services and seamless payouts when requested. Many have become the gold standard of the industry due to their longevity and proven track record of paying its customers in a timely fashion when a payout is requested. And unlike most U.S.-based books, offshore shops readily accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for funding accounts and releasing funds when a payout is requested.

So, whether you’re betting with a U.S.-regulated sportsbook or one of the preeminent offshore books, sports betting has never been more popular and it’s only getting bigger and better.

Sniper-PhotoAuthor: Sin City Sniper

Sin City Sniper – Busting bookmakers and taking their money is his greatest joy in life. He’s been around the block more than once, knows the players both on and off the field of battle, and uses his experience to serve the bookies a heaping plate of humble pie washed down by a warm glass of their salty tears. You can find him in any number of Vegas books, sniping weak lines and getting paid to do it.

The opinions and view here expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Point Spreads or any of its affiliates. Point Spreads is not responsible and does not verify for accuracy any of the articles and content pieces included herein; moreover, besides being solely the opinion or views of the authors, these content pieces are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, anyone or anything.

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U.S. Sports Betting
May 16, 2023
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PointSpreads.com publishes daily content and sports data, including scoreboards, team stats, player stats, odds, and occasional betting advice by professional pundits. PointSpreads.com is NOT a betting site; all views and opinions expressed on this site by our contributors are solely their own and they do not represent PointSpreads.com's views or policies.


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