Legal sports betting continues to be a popular initiative in the United States, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on live professional sports events.
From January to August 2020, the legal sports betting industry in the US has continued to thrive, despite all odds. Some of the noticeable highlights in the sports betting market this year are as follows.
Five states launched legal sports betting during this period: Illinois, Montana, Colorado, Washington D.C. and Michigan.
The daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings went public on NASDAQ. William Hill opened the first retail sportsbook in the US located inside a pro sports arena, the William Hill sportsbook within the Capitol One Arena in Washington D.C.
FanDuel’s deal with the Denver Broncos also made them the first sportsbook to partner with a National Football League (NFL) team since 2018. Washington State and Virginia both legalized sports betting.
There are now 18 states in the US that have launched legal sports betting, alongside the District of Columbia. Three more US jurisdictions are expected to go live before the end of 2020: Washington, Puerto Ricovand Virginia.
Among the remaining 32 US states without a legal sports betting industry, three states have emerged as next up in line. Voters from Maryland, South Dakota and Louisiana will decide on November 2020 whether they want legal sports betting in their states.
Louisiana and Maryland voters will simply have to vote “yes” or “no” on the question of legal sports wagering, while South Dakota voters will have to consider whether Deadwood-based casinos can add sports betting to their offerings.
New York, Massachusetts and Ohio are also trudging slowly towards legalization. Industry analysts believe that the three states are done with the question of legal sports betting, and are now more focused on determining what legal sports betting will look like in their states.
Gambling industry insiders are pushing for faster legalization as a way for local governments to recoup their losses due to the quarantine measures imposed during the peak of the pandemic in mid-March to July 2020.
Casey Clark, the American Gaming Association’s senior vice president for strategic communications, admitted that sports betting revenue from legalizing the activity will likely not be a panacea for all states’ budget gaps. Clark noted, however, that the revenue to be derived from sports betting will make a significant difference for states, especially for their workforces.
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