Changes Afoot for US Betting?

The US betting market as a whole has always been a little bit of a hornet’s nest of legality for the different states that have varying legislation around betting as a whole – it can often be difficult to keep up with what falls under the legal umbrella and what may fall outside of it. As sporting events start to get ramped up again as we head through the year though, many believe there could be an opportunity for a renewed focus on the betting market as a whole particularly as different sites for different states like bet-mt.com continue to grow in popularity, but where could the changes be coming from?

A focus for economic recovery – Whilst the pandemic has left many in a bit of a worse for wear position, many experts have suggested that changing betting regulation could certainly help with recovery. Much of the legislation submitted particularly in states where betting still remains illegal is that a certain tariff would be placed on bets for the state, and with such a huge market that continues to grow, just the tax alone on betting markets could be enough to put a substantial hole in the deficit brought about by the pandemic. This could be especially impactful in states like California, for instance, but given most aren’t set to receive any follow up until later in the year, it could be a bit of time before any more immediate change is scene.

Growing markets, growing opportunities – Another big factor that could see change come quickly is within how quickly other markets outside of traditional sporting are growing – certain spaces like esports are finding enormous numbers and show no signs of stopping, as it’s still a relatively new market there’s little regulation around this type of betting and as such it will need to be addressed sooner rather than later and could be a reason why some states start to facilitate more change.

Land-based closures may leave little choice – It’s also important to consider the fact that many land-based locations may be unable to reopen once things get back to ‘normal’ – those forced to close may have already shifted to a bigger online presence, but with the instances of betting shops in particular many have had to remain closed for a longer period of time and may not have the ability to deliver their services as normal, leaving a big gap which only the online space can fill which may force the hand for regulation around online to continue.

There is of course always the possibility that the same will remain true where the big states continue to outright squash any chance of betting emerging, and there will certainly be some that aren’t considering change – but given changing attitudes towards the industry as a whole anyway and the new opportunities becoming available, now may be a better time than any as support starts to drum up and further calls are made to ensure there are safe and reliable spaces for players.