Betting on Your Favorite Sports

Betting on Your Favorite Sports

In the United States, there have always been a number of licensed sportsbooks available for placing bets, with most located in Nevada. There, a gambler could place wagers on various sporting competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing, tennis, greyhound racing, boxing and mixed martial arts. Casino sportsbooks generally feature “betting windows, big screen televisions, interactive betting stations, odds boards (usually computerized), papers with different odds for the day and places for sitting to watch the various games and races”.

Various online sportsbooks doing business in the United States also exist, where players can place bets from the comfort of their home or while on the go using their mobile device. These sportsbooks are located offshore, in countries where such activity is legal and regulated. Check the Internet to find legal and licensed sportsbooks for online sports betting in the United States.

With the ruling in 2018 to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), the Supreme Court opened the door for all states to allow sports betting and casino activities. The final implementation legalities are up to each state to decide, but the doorway to casino sports betting across the United States stands open. Some states moved fast, voting to legalize sports betting quickly, while others have adopted a slower pace as they investigate all aspects involved in legalizing sports betting within their state.

There have always been a few states which had legal sports betting in place and were exempt from the PASPA which forbade states to authorize legal sports betting: Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon. Now they will face stiff competition from all the other states who have been quick to legalize and implement sports betting; New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Arkansas, New York, Iowa and Indiana. 

Other states have legalized sports betting but placed limitations on who can participate, be they provider or player. For example, in the state of Illinois, casinos will be the main venues for sports betting during the first 18-24 month period. Any state residents interested in sports betting will be required to actually register at a local casino location, a method of keeping player’s money within the state. At the two year mark, the Illinois law will expand to allow sports betting to include all registered gambling companies, not just those within the state.

Some states have legalized sports betting, but are moving slow about actual implementation. Montana is such a state, with the The Montana Lottery office to handle licensing of acceptable retailers and monitoring sports betting which will only be available inside a state licensed location. The Montana sports betting law also has some extra bite, prohibiting any current Montana collegiate or professional coach, player, trainer, staff member or referee from making a bet on any sports game or event. Even athletes competing in sports like golf or rodeo are prohibited from making a bet.

New Jersey was the state who challenged the Federal law in court which led to the Supreme Court overturning the PASPA, and New Jersey grabbed the opportunity the ruling presented to offer sports betting with both hands. Not only can players place wager in casinos, they can also go online and place their sports betting wagers there. The result was sports betting in New Jersey has surged to levels which have even exceeded those for Nevada. in May 2019, New Jersey sportsbooks took in $318.9 million in bets, while Nevada sportsbooks took in $317.4 million.

With the number of states who contain major cities currently defaulting on their loans and hemorrhaging money, the extra revenue created through casino sports betting will be a positive point as politicians look at legislation to legalize sportsbook betting for their state.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportsbook

https://www.thelines.com/betting/revenue/