About one-in-five American adults say they have bet on sports in some way, either at a casino or other gambling venue, online with a betting app, or at a friend’s house. Men are more likely than women to report having placed a bet in the past year, and Americans under 50 are more likely than those over age 50.
The Supreme Court’s decision to lift the 1992 federal ban on sports betting opened up a new revenue stream for many sports leagues, and their teams, as well as individual athletes and coaches. Since then, major professional and amateur sports organizations have struck partnership deals with gaming entities to offer sports betting through their platforms. The NBA partnered with MGM, for example, and the NHL signed up with FanDuel. Individual teams have also forged partnerships with sportsbooks.
Aside from the partnership deals, states have taken their own approach to legalizing sports betting. Most have passed laws allowing sportsbooks to operate within their borders, with regulations ranging from licensing requirements to tax rates. Some states have established a centralized sportsbook regulatory body that oversees all of their licensed operators. Others have assigned responsibility for sports betting to their state lotteries or other regulated gaming agencies.
As a result, the path to legalization for sports betting has been windy and peppered with controversy. Several states have faced challenges implementing their sports betting markets, while others have had to deal with issues related to corruption and regulatory oversight.
Profitable sports betting takes hard work and skill. But, if you do your research, manage your money wisely, and stay disciplined, you can be successful in the sport betting world. And who knows, you may even be one of the few that turn sports betting into a full-time career!
In our survey, 56% of Americans say they’ve read or heard a lot about the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country. Awareness of sports betting varies by demographic group, with men more likely than women to say they’ve read or heard a great deal about it. Those with a college degree and those in upper-income households are also more likely to be aware of sports betting.
The most basic type of sports wager is a straight bet, which involves placing a single bet on the outcome of a specific event. For example, if you think the Toronto Raptors will win their game against the Boston Celtics, you can place a straight bet on the Raptors to win at odds of 1.50. This bet pays out if the team wins the game, or if it loses by a certain number of points, goals, or runs. Another popular bet is the spread, which offers odds that are related to the margin of victory between two teams or players. The more a team or player is favored, the lower the odds will be. The opposite is true for underdogs, who are offered higher odds.