Sports betting industry is a rapidly-growing business in the U.S. And the trend seems to be growing even more with every passing day. Unfortunately, a number of old-fashioned regulations still have a massive impact on the US gambling market. The problem is that these fail to meet the needs of the modern times, which hurts the country’s and the players’ interests.
Operating in the grey area, sports betting industry siphoned off millions of dollars from the U.S. economy in tax revenues. Sports betting is among the biggest revenue contributors when it comes to the casino gambling industry.
Many states called for the legalization and regulation of this type of gambling service in an effort to plug some budget gaps without cutting any spending. New Jersey soared on the news as the state that challenges federal anti-gambling laws for years. Until recently, its efforts to break the chains of the long-standing restrictive laws remained unsuccessful.
This year, things changed drastically in favor of New Jersey as the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the state’s appeal and look at the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) that prohibits sports gambling outside Nevada. The majority of the U.S. residents also expressed their vocal support to the sports betting industry. Rumors are swirling that the court is to side with New Jersey and revoke PASPA.
Detroit Casinos Up For Sports Betting Legalization
Apart from New Jersey, a number of other states are squaring up to crack into sports betting market. Yesterday, Casino Reports found out that Massachusetts is getting ready to be among the first states to allow the provision of sports betting. But it is not the only state which is prepping to benefit from the possible change of the regulatory regime. Detroit is the other state, which is also impatiently waiting in front of the doors.
According to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s reports, a gambling research company in Santa Ana, 12 million to 15 million Americans placed wagers on sports events. Being illegal, bookies and offshore sites reaped $3 billion in revenue. Industry insiders asserted that the legalization of the sports betting industry is the right budget deficit remedy for many states. They added that casinos that own pro sports teams might be not allowed to accept bets on the teams they own. It is important to note that Major League Baseball does not tolerate team owners, who are casino operators at the same time.
Detroit’s three casinos also seem to support the legalization of the sports betting industry. Matt Cullen, chief executive of JACK Entertainment, which runs Greektown announced that the casino is up for the idea, supposing that the lawmakers introduce an adequate regulatory framework. MGM Grand also supported the idea, explaining that the casino is waiting for this moment for a long time. MotorCity, the third casino venue in Detroit, also backed up the idea.
