As public sentiment shifts towards favoring the introduction of legal and regulated sports betting throughout the United States, many are wondering whether this will be the last year that most Americans will be placing illegal bets on the nation’s largest sporting event – the Super Bowl.
At present, Nevada is the only place that single game sports bets can be legally placed.
According the chief executive of the American Gaming Association, it is estimated that around $140 million will be wagered legally in Nevada this weekend.
Incredibly, the AGA’s estimates are that “about $4.6 billion will be wagered illegally across the country going to these illegal offshore operators, corner bookies or other unregulated entities.”
With this type of argument, combined with the fact that Super Bowl wagering is so ingrained in the US psyche that most adults were surprised to learn that it is an “illegal” pastime, and the question begs to be asked: Is this the last year that sports betting remains illegal in the US?
If it were up to New Jersey and a score of states that supports its efforts, the answer is a definite yes. The Garden State is currently pushing to have the 26 year old Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) repealed so that more states can legally join Nevada in offering legal sports betting.
New Jersey is pushing the Supreme Court to rule in favor of its appeal and allow it to offer legal sports betting at casinos and race tracks. The higher court is scheduled to give its ruling in June this year. If it rules in New Jersey’s favor, more states are expected to bring similar legislation to their own law books and support legal sports wagers. As it is, a recent poll run by the Washington Post showed that the majority of US adults support legal sports betting.
The AGA has a clear agenda – to make sports betting legal and regulated on a statewide level.
“Because of the laws in the US right now, the only people who can’t provide sports betting are legal, regulated companies who can protect consumers in the process,” said Freeman.
