(Feature image from focusgn.com)
It has been a big couple of years for sports betting in the US as new legislation has been launched across multiple states to welcome change, some have been more successful than others and delays have left some a bit worse for wear – but with future change still yet to be made, where can the biggest success be found and where will changes come from to further strengthen newer US betting services?
One approach had come from D.C with a state sponsored option – betting in DC did find some initial success after being legalised back in 2020 but the figures didn’t hold up over time, and there has been a lot of finger pointing as to why this approach hasn’t been able to succeed. Some suggestions have been towards the lower pay-out rates, others towards the large amount of information being collected in order to play, and others looking at the need to be inside the cities boundaries before they place their bets meaning those who work or live in DC but were out of town were unable to play. With the widespread return of sporting back in July and August, it was expected to be an extremely busy period pulling in tens of millions of dollars, but the reality was far more disappointing with low figures.
Other states that had launched at the same time with Colorado being a notably example had performed much better – having pulled in over $3 billion in sports wagers for its first year and an extremely successful 2021 to boot, it has shown that the traditional approach to handing out licenses to online sportsbooks and promoting easily available online play will still be the way forward – in many circumstances Colorado may prove to be the poster child for all online sports betting throughout the US as its more welcoming approach has already started to invite international interest with one of Europe’s biggest sportsbook providers looking to set-up further infrastructure in the state and find even further success.
There are still a lot of hurdles to overcome, language around tribal casino rights and whether or not online sports betting means truly online options as some states are still tied to visitors having a physical presence to bet, but things are moving in the right direction and the rates of which new services are being picked up and allowed is moving very quickly. The next step may not just be aimed at online sportsbooks but at other games of chance too as online casinos may also look to be included in future language and legislation.
