In 2023, the sports betting industry increased in value by a staggering 44.5% from the previous year, with over $11 billion in revenue. This growth represents more generated revenue than every other source of income in the gaming industry, including iGaming, table games, and slots. Several factors have contributed to this sudden growth, including legalization, technology, and a cultural shift. Below, we will discuss why more US citizens are betting on sports and what the future looks like.
State-Level Legalization
Betting on sports was taboo, and it was illegal in most states in the United States. However, a shift in the legal landscape has enabled people to enjoy betting on all types of games, including sports. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which occurred in 1992, meant that betting on sports was prohibited mainly in the United States. It was not until 2018 that the federal ban was removed, essentially making betting on in-person and online sports legal.
In 2020, 19 states made it legal to participate in online sports betting; by 2023, 33 states had joined in reversing the ban.
Some states, such as Tennessee and Kentucky, have partially lifted the ban. You can bet online in these states but cannot place sports bets in person, leading to a significant rise in digital betting in these states. It is likely that as time goes on, we will continue to see more states in the US lifting the ban on betting, especially as it becomes more acceptable in society.
Innovative Technologies
We are seeing such a drastic rise in the number of people participating in online sports betting thanks to innovative technologies that have made the process much easier and widely accessible.
The experience of placing bets on sports online has become effortless with applications that allow you to see every option available for betting at that time and will enable you to place bets with the click of a few buttons. In the United States, around 86% of all bets on sports are placed online, which shows how much these new technologies have influenced the industry.
Many more people have access to smartphones, which means the availability of these betting apps is more widespread than ever before.
In addition, these betting applications and sites provide users with a unique experience that was not possible before. For example, people can now place bets on sports that are in play, making spectating the game even more exciting. These mobile applications also allow people to watch the game on their smartphones, follow their bets, and adjust depending on the outcome.
Finally, it is now possible to place bets on a far more comprehensive range of different sports that were not accessible before. For example, you can now bet on the outcome of Esports games, which have become extremely popular in recent years due to the rapid growth of the video game industry.
Shift in Culture
There has been a negative light cast on gambling in the United States for many years; however, there has been a shift in recent times, which contributed to a normalization of the activity.
We can attribute much of this normalization to advertisements, movies, and TV programs portraying sports betting as a regular activity that brings people joy and makes watching a sports match more exciting. Examples of famous films in recent times surrounding the topic of taking sports gambles include Moneyball, starring Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt, and The Gambler, featuring Mark Wahlberg and George Kennedy.
The rise of the internet has forever altered how people communicate worldwide. It has allowed people to meet like-minded individuals with shared interests and hobbies. Social media has made it easy to contact others and create groups around different topics, and sports betting is something that many people enjoy discussing. This has helped normalize the act of sports betting, with people having daily conversations about who they think will win which game.
Together, this has led to sports gambling becoming more acceptable in today’s society, with many people considering it as just another form of entertainment.
A New Form of Entertainment
Sports betting has become extremely popular in the United States and will continue to grow as an industry as it becomes more socially acceptable. People gain access to devices that facilitate gambling online. The legal landscape in the United States has yet to completely legalize the activity; however, there has been significant progress in lifting the gambling ban on sports in recent years. Society has begun changing its perspective on sports betting from a negative one, deriding it as something to be looked down upon, to a legitimate new form of entertainment.
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