What does US online gambling look like in 2021?
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On May 14, 2018, the US Supreme Court decided to repeal the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act on the basis of it being unconstitutional. The Act, which passed Congress in 1992, had all single-game wagering banned in the country, with the only exception being the state of Nevada. Of course, Nevada was and still is the gambling capital of the nation, with its hotels and resorts, which you can find here at traveldailynews.com, being frequented by betting enthusiasts, among others.
Now, three years since the repeal of PASPA, several states have run with their newfound liberty to establish land and online betting. Some have opted for a few betting shops, others set up online and mobile betting regulators, and a handful of states have gone all-in to set up online betting and casino gaming operations. Gradually, more than half of the US has opened up to online gambling to varying degrees, creating a vast and popular 2021 online gambling scene.
State of play of gambling in US states
Of the 50 US states allowed to run online gambling options following the outcome of Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association., No. 16-476, 22 have now fully established regulated sports betting industries. A further three have passed bills to go on to legalize sports betting, with only three of the remaining states not having made any legal moves for or against sports betting, as shown by espn.com.
For the most part, states that opt to legalize sports betting tend to allow the activity in-person and online. All of Nevada, New Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Iowa, Oregon, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, and Washington DC, and Virginia, allow for online and in-person betting. New Hampshire and Tennessee also commissioned an online gambling industry, but neither runs legal land-based betting operations.
Delaware, Mississippi, New Mexico, Arkansas, New York, Montana, and North Carolina all permit sports betting, but only in-person at designate, licensed locations. New York is said to be progressing towards allowing mobile betting, with the 2022 fiscal year being the target as it stands. As of mid-2021, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, and West Virginia also have legal online casino gaming sites in operation.
The state of play continues to evolve across the US, with the success of the still quite young legal betting states only encouraging others to at least set up small-scale betting or gaming locations. Closest to joining the ranks of the legalized states look to be Louisiana, Maryland, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming.
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Sports driving the new US betting industry
The sheer level of dedicated sports fandom present across the US has long meant that betting could be a successful venture. For years, the gambling-game-in-denial known as daily fantasy sports capitalized on this thanks to murky legislation. Now, true sports betting has arrived, and the hordes of sports fans have been signing up to sites and frequenting betting shops in the legalized states.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the single biggest driver of US betting activity is the NFL. In many states, betting on collegiate games – or at least collegiate games concerning local teams – isn’t allowed, shifting almost all would-be football bettors into the NFL arena. By far one of the most-watched and most-selected sports, football betting is consistently strong throughout the NFL regular season but explodes when the Super Bowl draws near.
Although its decline is very well-documented, baseball and the MLB still stand as the next-biggest sport and league behind football and the NFL. With so many games being played each year and the playoffs having a best-of-seven format, there’s always a lot to bet on in the MLB, with the World Series being the grand finale both of the league and the baseball betting season.
Also touting an almighty following in the US and in other countries around the world – more so than the former two sports leagues – are the NBA and NHL. Basketball and ice hockey are major international sports, but with the big-money leagues being in the US, American sports fans are closest to the highest level of domestic action. Due to the stars on show and the quality of the games, NHL and NBA betting are very popular in states that host a team in those leagues.
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Strategies for betting on the most popular US sports
Easily the most important strategy to adopt whenever you’re betting on any sport is to do in-depth research. You may be a long-time fan and have made many successful calls in the past, but information is power. Before placing a bet or adding odds to your bet slip, check out the most recent news and records, such as injury news, weather forecasts, and the scores from the last few meets, to get a better idea of the value of the odds on offer.
Even though the US betting market is still very young, the quality of the brands that have set up shop in the legalized states has forged a world-class betting scene. As such, you shouldn’t think that you need to settle for a bet on the winner of a game. These platforms allow you to bet on just about any legitimate outcome of a game imaginable. So, after doing research, it’s always good to highlight any outcomes that you think will happen – from the number of points to potential scorers – and then see if there are good odds on those outcomes available.
Sports betting continues to grow in the US, with the online options available being as vast as they are convenient. It seems inevitable that as 2021 progresses, more states will join the fold.
Main picture of Free-Photos from Pixabay
