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US Sports Betting Sector Marks 4th Anniversary of PASPA Repeal With $125 Billion Handle
By Jeff Osienya May 18, 2022 IndustryJust four years since the SCOTUS repealed the controversial PASPA in May 2018, bettors across the states that moved to regulate sports wagering have spent $125 billion. Join us in dissecting the industry’s progress on the 4th anniversary of the repeal.May 14th, 2018 – This date will forever be embedded in the history of the sports betting sector in the United States. It was when the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was repealed by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The historic PASPA repeal paved the way for individual US states or jurisdictions to enact legal sports betting regulations as they saw fit.
Truth be told, sports betting in the US has been around for ages but had been operating in the shadows for far too long. These unregulated operations meant that the respective state governments continuously lost billions in potential taxable income over the years.
So, the PASPA repeal was the culmination of a lengthy and tiring process that began 10 years before its eventual end in New Jersey. Overturning the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had placed a federal restriction on sports betting to just four states across the USA, was no mean feat. But, boy, was it a long shot that few believed would see the light of day!
Impressive Numbers Reported on the 4th Anniversary of PASPA Repeal
The Bradley Act, as it was popularly referred to, had strangled a sector that was desperate for a breath of life. Yet, four years down the line, the exemplary figures tell a glorious tale of a vibrant industry that had been stifled for the longest time.
Since the repeal of PASPA in May 2018, Americans have wagered a stunning $125 billion on sports betting across the different states that have legalized the activity so far. The impressive handle aside, local governments and states that regulate sports betting have collected a whopping $1.3 billion in tax revenue. Better still, sportsbooks across the United States have been the biggest beneficiaries of the PASPA repeal, racking in a terrific $8.8 billion worth of revenue from sports betting.
Discussing the state of the US sports betting industry exactly four years following the PASPA repeal, Bill Miller, the President and Chief Executive of the American Gaming Association (AGA) – USA’s gambling industry trade body, said:
Quote“The unprecedented growth of legal wagering in four short years clearly demonstrates the failure of the federal government’s ban on legal sports betting. It has also served to mainstream the casino gaming industry, generating increased interest from Wall Street policymakers and media. I’ve been in and around politics my whole career, and I’m hard-pressed to come up with any issue that has been as resoundingly adopted by states in such a short period. And there’s a reason for that: policymakers understand that regulated, legal sports betting provides a safe alternative to the illegal market when generating important tax revenue.”
Sports Betting Development Since PASPA Repeal
When the controversial law was repealed, many had wondered what the future held for sports betting in most US States. Now that we are four years into the future, it is fair to say that it has been nothing short of a resounding success.
Interestingly, there were even fears back then that Las Vegas would be negatively impacted by the federal legalization of sports betting. However, over the years, we have come to realize that there is ample space for all these markets to prosper. Indeed, each state that has legalized sports betting since 2018 has experienced tremendous growth.
As of May 14th, 2022, which marked four years since PASPA’s repeal, 40 states plus the District of Columbia have either introduced regulated sports betting legislation or permitted some form of sports betting. Of the 40, 30 of them have active legal sports betting markets, whereas 19 states have also legalized online sports betting within their jurisdictions.
It’s worth pointing out that the covid19 pandemic in 2020 hit the industry hard, especially for retail sportsbooks, which had to be closed for a couple of months. Fortunately, with the vaccine rollout, 2022 has so far seen the industry make a remarkable comeback. Already, a commercial gaming revenue of $14.31 billion was recorded in the first quarter of the year, marking the best-ever first quarter since the PASPA repeal. Mind you, Q1 2022 is the second-best gaming quarter, trailing the $14.35 billion garnered in Q4 2021 to crown the new annual commercial gaming record of $53.03 billion set in the 2021 calendar year.
New York, New Jersey, and Nevada have been the most promising states in USA’s commercial gaming scene. They also lead the way in sports betting as they are the only three states that have won a $1 billion monthly sports betting handle at least once.
Professional Leagues are Quickly Warming Up to Sports Betting
Sports betting used to be an activity shunned by many, including key industry players in the professional sports leagues. However, the PASPA repeal has gradually led to a change of heart from many. Take, for instance, the National Football League (NFL), which, a few years ago, did not want to be associated with sports betting in any way, and now, it has partnered with many sportsbooks. Moreover, the NCAA had even previously openly expressed support for PASPA in 2014. Six years later, PointsBet sealed a 5-year deal with the University of Colorado, making the University the first to seal a sportsbook partnership in the NCAA.
There have, however, been a few people in the professional leagues who have been vital supporters of the PASPA repeal for a long time. For example, in 2014, NBA commissioner Adam Silver penned an open letter in the New York Times calling for the widespread legalization of regulated sports betting.
Following the PASPA repeal, the support for regulated sports betting has vastly increased in several professional leagues in the USA. The Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), and National Hockey League (NHL) have all joined the NFL in having sports betting partnerships at the league level and among individual teams.
There’s no denying that the future of the USA’s sports betting scene looks brighter than ever. For one, more states are working to join the regulated sports betting bandwagon and launch their regulated markets. Secondly, with the partnerships between sports teams, professional leagues, athletes, and sportsbook brands, the burgeoning industry is guaranteed to grow bigger and continue bringing in millions of dollars in revenue for operators and state coffers.
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