A landmark ruling for the Sports Betting Industry
In the United States, until very recently, betting on the outcome of any sporting event was illegal in most states. Nationwide, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act made it illegal to place this kind of bet. That is not to say that it didn’t happen, but it could land the participants in hot water.
That changed in May of this year with a landmark supreme court ruling. According to the terms of this ruling, each state can now individually decide whether to allow gambling on sports matches or not. It’s the first real progress this industry has made in the last 30 years or so.
Why is it so important? Sports betting is not something that will be going away anytime soon. It would go ahead regardless of the current laws. By legalizing it, however, states can benefit from this multi-billion-dollar industry.
There are many economic benefits. You can find exact facts and figures in the infographic compiled by njgames.org below. The main points are that states benefit in three main ways.
The Economy Is Boosted
More spending of any kind helps to feed money back into the economy. With betting being legal, more patrons will take part and so more money will enter the economy.
Job Creation
Legalizing the industry makes it possible for legitimate businesses to get involved. Legitimate businesses would need to hire staff and so the industry will create jobs.
Tax Income
Let’s be frank here, the primary reason that a state would want to legalize this industry is so that it could get its own piece of the action.
Legalizing sports betting is a smart move for many states in a few different ways. There will, naturally, be some more conservative states who feel that they are not interested in encouraging this kind of activity. That’s fine, as separate legislations in neighboring states can serve as a prime example of a future case study that can examine precisely the positive and negative effects of each approach.
