In May of this year, a huge change came about in the betting industry in the US. The Supreme Court cleared the way for individual states to legalize sports betting. Since 1992, a federal law was in place that had previously prohibited the majority of states from authorizing sports betting.
This news was a long time coming for many states who have been wanting to allow sports gambling as a way to not only encourage the tax revenue, but also to increase the tourism in the state. The states were then left to make their own choice whether to allow sports betting or to put their own laws in place.
According to the co-founder Josh Wardini and the whole team behind NJgames.org, the controversy of the matter started back in 2011, when the state of New Jersey voters approved a measure to legalize sports betting. At the time, casino industries were not doing very well thanks to the faltering economy and it was thought that this change would give the industry the boost that it needed.
As you can see in the timeline of NJ sports betting depicted on the infographic below, this law was then challenged by several professional sports leagues and the NCAA who pointed out the 1992 federal law. The sporting leagues, such as Major League Baseball, felt as though this would have profound and negative effects on the sport, which was a change they didn’t want.
Now that individual states are able to make their own decision as to whether sports betting is legalized, some of the major American sports leagues, such as NFL, NBA, and MLB, have already said that they are going to be taking steps to protect the integrity of the games.
The news has been met with mixed reactions from the states themselves. Seven states almost immediately legalized sports betting after PASPA was overturned and 16 others have recently prepared a Bill which has not yet been passed.
For the states themselves, this change could have a huge economic impact with sports betting expected to contribute $22.4b to the US GDP, as well as having a positive effect on the unemployment rates. It is expected that 86,819 jobs will be created directly and 129,852 indirectly.
To find out more about how this change is going to affect the US as a whole, take a look at the infographic below which will tell you all you need to know about the brave new world of legalized sports betting in the US.
