More American Adults Supporting Legal Betting

The American sports betting industry has seen massive change since 2018. Now a report from the American Gaming Association (AGA) has shown increasing support in America for gambling on sport and playing at online casinos.

It was five years ago that a US Supreme Court Judge made a groundbreaking ruling. Before then, the federal government made the final ruling on whether a US state could legalize the playing of online casino games and betting on sport. The court ruling changed this and struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

Now the individual states can make the decision themselves. Over 30 have since done so. Now the numbers visiting online casinos has grown massively. 141 million people in the US (57 percent) now live in an area where gambling has been made legal.

Research by the AGA has revealed that 85 percent of American adults believe that the US Supreme Court ruling was correct. When the same question was asked a year after the ruling, only 63 percent approved of the decision.

Another high percentage supported the legalization of sports betting and online casinos in the state where they live. 77 percent were in approval, just over three in every four American adults who were questioned.

39.2 percent of respondents said that in the past year they had placed a bet on sport. Visiting online casinos is also becoming hugely popular. The past five years has seen $220 billion worth of legal sports bets placed and a lot more on casino games too. One reason why US states were keen to make betting legal was the amount that could be received in gambling tax revenue.

Since the 2018 ruling, over $3 billion has been received in both state and local taxes. Monies received have been used to help fund education, infrastructure and healthcare. Funds have also gone towards helping those who have problems with their gambling and promoting responsible gaming.

One slightly worrying response was that only 78 percent had placed all or most of their wagers with regulated operators. That means there is still much work to be done to stop the unregulated online casinos.

Betting with those who aren’t licensed or regulated has many negatives. The revenues earned are not subject to taxation. This means states are losing out on a great deal of tax revenue. That was the situation before states decided to make sports betting legal. It also sees those gamblers who join such sites put in a situation where customer protection is far less than at regulated sites.

AGA research has shown that $64 billion is wagered by American adults with illegal sites. This is down from $150 billion before the 2018 US Supreme Court ruling. It’s estimated that betting with illegal sites costs US states $700 million in gambling tax revenue.

There is progress being made in this area though. Four years ago, similar research found that only 44 percent of online sports bets were being made with regulated companies.

AGA President and CEO Bill Miller has been speaking about the results. He said that it has always been the case that American adults enjoy betting whether it be on sport or online casino games. Now they “value the ability to bring their action into a legal market, close to home.”

46 percent of those who currently use unlicensed sites realize they need to switch to regulated ones in the next year. Those who do already make legal bets do not see themselves switching to illegal sites. 90 percent say they will stay with legal sites.

Seven out of ten who bet with illegal sites were of the opinion that they were betting with legal online casinos and sportsbooks. It’s still a problem that many illegal offshore sites put out marketing that incorrectly tells potential customers that they are legal sites. 38 percent of respondents said that if a site makes a statement that they are legal, then that is what they believe to be true.

When asked why they wanted to do so, 71 percent said that they felt more secure about being paid their winnings by the site. 68 percent said they preferred the easy payment methods available and the high level of security. Responsible gaming resources are also popular. 58 percent of those questioned appreciated such information being made available to them.

Just 29 percent said they are unsure about whether sportsbooks or online casinos they play at are legal or not. That’s down from 45 percent of those questioned five years ago. With more states likely to make playing at online casinos legal in the future, hopefully the numbers using illegal sites will fall further.