Gambling has become closely associated with sports, an unintended consequence of a 2018 Supreme Court ruling and the subsequent rise of phone-based sportsbooks. Access to the action becomes unlimited as the smartphone effectively becomes the means by which he places bets in real time 24 hours a day. Gambling on games used to mean betting on who would win, but now games can range from who will score the next basket to whether the next score will be his 3-point shot. You can bet on any aspect of the. This high-speed action fuels a whirlwind of excitement and fuels the gambler's adrenaline rush, driving even more bets as the cycle of addiction unfolds. Gambling addiction is not new, but the unregulated symbiotic relationship between sportsbook apps and state governments that turn a blind eye has turned sports gambling into a national crisis.
Since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling, sports betting amounts have been on the rise. The American Gaming Association estimates that $2.7 billion will be wagered legally during March Madness 2024, and this year's Super Bowl alone will see more than $23 billion wagered by 68 million Americans. It is estimated that
To put these numbers into perspective, Vermont has a gross domestic product of $31 billion and a U.S. adult population of approximately 270 million people. This means that on the Super Bowl alone, a quarter of US adults were likely to have placed a bet, and the average bet per adult was approximately $350. This is an amount that someone who bets for “fun” is unlikely to bet. place. Of course, such analysis is biased, most stakes are much lower than this amount, and a few are significantly higher.
In 2023, more than $120 billion was legally wagered on all sports, an amount equal to the gross domestic product of Nebraska, Arkansas, or the District of Columbia. The amount of illegal betting further increases this value. More states are expected to legalize sports betting in the near future, and more than $200 billion in bets could be made by 2024.
Currently, there are no fences around sports betting, and states derive significant revenue from this activity, so imposing restrictions is likely to be an uphill battle. Such revenues make it easier for states to avoid introducing new taxes while keeping their treasuries full.
New Jersey, which allowed sports betting after the Supreme Court legalized sports betting in states in 2018, generated more than $500 million in total tax revenue with more than $48 billion in wagers. New York State has generated more than $1.7 billion in total tax revenue since 2019, and more than $100 million in January 2024 alone. Illinois has generated nearly $400 million since 2020.
Sportsbooks are quick to provide warnings related to the risks of sports gambling and encourage people to only gamble an amount they can afford to lose. For example, DraftKings provides links to encourage “responsible gambling,” including a phone number for gamblers to call for help. However, this link is located in the top right corner of his web page and is displayed in a smaller font than the rest of the page.
The problem with this kind of information is that gamblers lack the self-control to know when to stop. The ease of placing sports bets in real time on your smartphone can make it even more addictive. In fact, without gambling addiction, it would be impossible for sportsbooks to generate the revenue they have. In fact, advising a problem gambler not to gamble is like advising an alcoholic not to drink or a smoker not to smoke. These are words that cannot be heard and advice that can be followed.
Sports betting continues to grow and become a national trend as young men become the captive audience. Similar to the opioid addiction crisis, where opioid manufacturers were held accountable for marketing their products to an unsuspecting audience, we will also see lawsuits against sportsbooks.
But are sportsbooks to blame for this growing crisis? They are simply taking advantage of the economic opportunities bestowed upon them by state governments benefiting from the situation given to them by the Supreme Court. This symbiotic relationship ensures that no state laws will be enacted soon that will slow the growth of sports betting.
In the long term, as the crisis begins to reach a critical tipping point, attracting more negative attention and causing more lives and livelihoods to be lost, lawmakers will be forced to take action.
The problem with shutting down or restricting sports gambling is that while such organizations are technically illegal in many states, foreign sportsbooks can easily fill the void left by U.S. companies. is abundant.
States are in no hurry to cut or slow down sports betting. If the sports betting tax revenue spigot were turned off, the resulting revenue shortfall would be overwhelming and trigger a fiscal crisis in many states.
Pete Rose's gambling activities, which led to a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989, seem pretty commonplace compared to what we see today. If Rose had had access to a smartphone and the gambling infrastructure currently in place, his antics would have been far more widespread and destructive than can be imagined.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's recent comments illustrate how pervasive gambling has become in this country's sports culture, even if the players themselves are not placing bets.
We are in the midst of a national sports betting epidemic, and we are not yet at its peak. Uncertainty remains as to how far and to what extent this epidemic will progress. But what is certain is that the end result of the infection will be ugly. The blame for this increase will be placed on a wide range of participants, including state legislators, who are turning a blind eye to the growth and negative impacts.
Sheldon H. Jacobsonis a professor of computer science at the Granger Institute of Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A data scientist, he leverages his expertise in data-driven, risk-based decision-making to evaluate and inform public policy. He is also the founder of. Brackett Tods websitea STEM Learning Lab specializing in March Madness analysis for universities.
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