Expanding legalized sports betting in the U.S. could generate yearly revenue close to billion, according to a study released by GamblingCompliance Research Services.
The report predicts the U.S. would become the world’s largest sports-betting market if a federal prohibition on sports wagering was rescinded. Revenue in the U.S. would be $11.9 billion, more than four times the amount of the current leading market of the United Kingdom, which brings in $2.8 billion.
The report estimates that California alone would see $1.3 billion in sports betting revenue and the state of New York would see $900 million if sports betting was added to those state’s gambling outlets.
Today, legalized sports betting generates less than $300 million in gross gaming revenue in the U.S., where only four states are exempt from the federal prohibition — Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon. The vast majority of the revenue comes from Nevada, which has the only true sports book in the U.S.
“U.S. policymakers, casino groups and sports leagues have all begun to consider what a regulated sports-betting market would look like without the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act prohibition,” GamblingCompliance’s managing director, James Kilsby, said in a news release. “States are already moving rapidly to regulate daily fantasy sports, but sports betting represents a far larger and more lucrative opportunity.”
The American Gaming Association also issued a report calling the feral ban on sports betting a failure and estimating that American bet $150 billion illegally on sports in 2015.
