Communicated Content- The US online gambling industry has experienced some solid growth recently which can be attributed to a few key factors. It hasn’t been an easy road for the online arm of the gambling industry, but in spite of some radical opposition over the years the industry seems to be growing at a steady pace.
Although the art of gambling has existed for centuries already, it wasn’t until very recently that the pastime has finally been permitted to be practiced legally. In 1992, the government passed an act known as the Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which made it illegal to advertise, sponsor, operate or issue licenses to conduct gambling. This was enacted partly because of the fact that when it came to sports betting, there were numerous cases of unscrupulous behaviour. This included the act of teams throwing games in order to cash in on bets.
This enacting of the bill was bad news for the entire country, with the exception of four states. Once PASPA was initiated, it allowed anyone who already had a license to operate to continue with business as usual. Delaware. Montana, Nevada and Oregon were those who had pre-existing licenses.
Time for Change
For the next 26 years the industry continued to operate and thrive in the dark corners and back alleys. This meant that the states were losing out on claiming taxes from the gambling industry. In May of 2020, the PASPA act was dismantled across the United States, paving the way for a flourishing online gambling market.
Within months, the number of online sports betting sites boomed across the nation and just in time for sporting events around the world. The number of states where the practice of online sports betting is now legal has already doubled and there are numerous other states which have already begun the process of legalizing it.
Record Online Sports Betting Weekend
The Super Bowl kicked recently which just happened to coincide with the launch of 10 different online sportsbooks. These included online betting giants such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM. This worked in the bookies favour as Michigan and Virginia amongst others, legalized online sports betting which according to the stats were responsible for the highest percentage of bets placed online throughout the entire country.
Super Bowl LV has the bookies licking their lips as the projected wagers being placed, could possibly run into the millions. With records already being set, you can bet your bottom dollar that every sportsbook in the country will be looking to get online as soon as possible to cash in on the action.
The Future of Online Sports Betting and Online Gambling
Technology has made it exceptionally easy for players to place their bets these days. A far cry from having to frequent your nearest tote or bookie, now you’re able to log onto your sports betting site or even slots site from the comfort of your own home or anywhere that has a reliable internet connection. Whether you’re using a smartphone, laptop or tablet, sites have been optimized for any mobile device.
As technology progresses, we are bound to see an increase in demand. One extremely exciting aspect of the online betting world is the advent of virtual reality sports betting. Although VR has been around for quite some time already, it’s only recently that the technology has allowed for higher resolution and rendition of images.
Right now it’s still in the developmental stages, but showing loads of promise. The most popular being a horse racing game that offers the player different views, even sitting on the horses back while in-depth information is relayed in real-time via GPS trackers placed on the athlete.
Online gambling and sports betting is poised to overtake their land-based counterpart in the very near future. As more and more states legalize the practice, you can be certain the growth of the online industry will grow exponentially.
