According to a study released on Monday by the American Gaming Association, majority of Americans are in full support of legalized sports betting. The study shows that 8 in 10 Americans support the idea of legalizing sports betting in their states. Meanwhile an overwhelming 63 per cent support the fact that the US Supreme Court struck down the ban on sports betting nationwide. Read on for more.
The AGA Study & Sports Betting in America
The District of Columbia and 10 other states authorised sports betting months after the Supreme Court ruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional. A dozen of other states have are also likely to consider sports betting legislation this year, following the fifteen states which have prefilled or are already active in sports betting.
Sara Slane, Senior Vice President of the AGA says; “The results of this research are overwhelmingly clear: consumers want legal sports betting, they believe it should be regulated by state and tribal governments and they don’t think the leagues should get a cut”. This with regards to the second part of the research which showed that 55 per cent of Americans don’t believe that major sports leagues should get a cut of the revenue from sports wagers, meanwhile 23 per cent believe that they should. According to Slane, Americans will bet a whopping $6 billion on the Superbowl. “This weekend, 23 million Americans will wager a staggering $6bn on the Super Bowl. To put that in perspective, Americans will bet around the same amount on this one event as they bet legally in all of 2018.”
Illegal Superbowl Bets
More so, the poll suggests that the Superbowl bets will be generated from illegal means. Well, with sports betting being illegal in the United States that does make sense. The study shows that one in the Americans watching Superbowl 53 will bet on it. “Americans will continue to bet illegally without access to safe, regulated alternatives. With sports betting legislation flooding state capitals across the country, legislators can pursue these opportunities knowing they have the support of their constituents,” said Slane.
“AGA will continue to advocate for the inclusion of sensible gaming policies wherever it is being considered, including consumer protections and reasonable tax rates that enable the legal, regulated market to compete with illegal bookies and offshore operators,” she added.
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