Sports Betting and Online Gaming: A Winning Combination
As sports betting momentum builds throughout the United States, other types of gaming are getting ready to ride that same wave.
CardPlayer predicts that internet poker will see a boon thanks to sports betting, quoting Whittier Law School gaming law professor I. Nelson Rose: “Once state lawmakers realize that the door really is wide open, they will look for more online gaming to authorize and tax.”
Since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) earlier this year, key pioneer states are introducing legislation to legalize sports betting within their borders. Frequently, this same legislation includes mention of other types of betting, like poker, casino games, and online and mobile varieties of gaming.
Pennsylvania is one early state that has introduced and passed a sports betting bill which includes language about mobile and online gaming. Pennsylvania legislators predict that very soon, the state will enjoy an online betting market of $300 million per year.
In addition to Pennsylvania, four states are considering legalizing online poker this year: Michigan, New York, Illinois and Connecticut:
New York recognized this tie-in too late. The legislative session came to a close with a legal sports betting bill still on the table. Sports betting was a difficult sell, but state senators were far more optimistic about the potential win of online poker. According to iDEA founding member Jeff Ifrah, “Including both online poker and sports betting in new legislation is the ideal strategy for states seeking to maximize the potential of these burgeoning markets.” Unfortunately, New Yorkers will have to wait another year to find out.
States are excited about the potential revenue to be earned from all kinds of regulated gaming, based on statistical evidence: our research in New Jersey provides clear evidence that online gaming generates significant revenue. In that state, April 2018 saw a 10 percent rise in online gaming revenue over April 2017, a clear sign of a positive uptick overall that will be only further supported by the new, more open gaming landscape.
States eager to reap the benefits of sports betting need not limit themselves. By including not only sports betting but different types of internet gaming in their new legislation, they can avail themselves of an even wider range of economic benefits.