The sports betting industry won the battle of becoming legal when the US Supreme Court dismissed the federal ban on wagering in May this year, giving the states the freedom to make decision of whether or not to legalize betting.
Since then, expectations on how this ruling will impact the country have been quite high. According to the infographic below created by NJGames.org, the benefits for the economy are expected to be massive.
Increased Sports Viewing And Advertising
Sports leagues are guaranteed a rise in tickets sells and thus more viewing by fans, while sports TV channels will witness more consumption and engagement from fans due to their vested interest in the results.
And with this kind of high viewership, not only will sponsorship increase but also more money will be made from the increased number of advertisers and advertising rates.
And much as the sports leagues were previously the main opposers of the legalization of betting because they didn’t want the integrity of the game eroded, many are actually eagerly awaiting the ruling’s implementation.
The reason is that they’re likely to benefit the most if their 1% integrity fee on amounts wagered sticks on top of the benefits from increased interest from fans. The charge is justified by the leagues’ claim that all the sports data wagered on is their intellectual property.
Employment And Tax Impact
This gambling industry is expected to create 86,819 direct jobs from operations and 129,852 indirect jobs for security operatives and hospitality workers. Other jobs will be created from the taxes collected from this lucrative business.In fact, the betting industry is predicted to contribute $22.4 billion to the US GDP.
Considering the fact that people have been illegally betting with their profits hidden in foreign countries, the legal status of the industry will widen the tax base as people’s wagers and earnings will be taxed. Hence, the tax revenue will skyrocket.
In fact, it’s projected that legal wagering will contribute $3.8 billion to state revenue and $4.8 billion to the federal state. The gross revenue is estimated to be between 6.75%-15%, depending on the different state laws.
Further, since the states that have legalized sports wagering will attract many people, they’re destined to collect more taxes from tourism too.
Integrity Of Sports
Some people are worried that legalized gambling will lead to game fixing or rather people throwing away games in order to gain from the bets they made. The different states and the leagues plan on regulating betting on sports events with the leagues already trying to place the 1% integrity fee as one way of monitoring the gaming industry.
However, amidst all these concerns, majority believe that the transparency brought about by the new wagering rules will protect against rigging as the regulators and operators are well equipped with high-tech technology and experience to see through any irregularities leading to game fixing.
For further understanding on how legalized sports betting will affect the US economy, check out the infographic below:
URL: https://njgames.org/future-of-sports-betting-infographic/
