May 14 marks the four-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) and opening the door to the state-by-state legalization of sports betting.

The unprecedented growth of legal wagering in four short years clearly demonstrates the failure of the federal government’s ban on legal sports betting. It also has served to mainstream the casino gaming industry, generating increased interest from Wall Street, policymakers and media.

It’s been a rise no one could have predicted so where are we today? These five numbers tell the story of the last four years in legal sports betting.

35

35 states and Washington D.C. have legalized sports betting today and half of American adults (130 million) can currently place legal sports wagers in their home market.

I’ve been in and around politics my whole career and I’m hard pressed to come up with any issue that has been as resoundingly adopted by states in such a short period. And there’s a reason for that: policymakers understand that regulated, legal sports betting provides a safe alternative to the illegal market while generating important tax revenue 

That’s proven out: since May 2018, legal sports betting has generated more than $1.3 billion in taxes for state and local governments from $8.8 billion in total sportsbook revenue.

73%

Americans are also in favor of gaming’s expansion, with about three-in-four (73%) American adults supporting legal, regulated sports betting for adults in their state, according to American Attitudes surveys conducted in both 2020 and 2021.

That support has carried over to the ballot box. Every state that has put sports wagering on the ballot has passed: Arkansas (2018), Colorado (2019), Louisiana (2020), Maryland (2020) and South Dakota (2020).

$125.4B 

Despite illegal operators’ decades-long head start, the growth of the legal sports betting is steadily cutting into the offshore market. That can be seen in the $125.4 billion wagered over the last four years.

Mature markets point to where we are headed. Regulated sports betting brands make up more that 85 percent of sportsbook searches in legal markets like New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

But there is still work to be done:

• Offshore sportsbook brands search grew by 38 percent between 2020-2021.


• These brands are looked up more than three (3.6) times as often as a regulated equivalent nationwide—Bovada alone accounts for 50 percent of all sportsbook searches.


• More than half (55%) of consumers who placed most of their wagers with illegal operators believed they bet legally.

This reinforces not only the importance of consumer education but also the need to crackdown on illegal operators that continue to take advantage of customers who are often unaware they are betting illegally. That’s why the American Gaming Association (AGA) recently called on the U.S. Department of Justice to use their power to investigate and indict these operators.

310

In the past four years, gaming companies and leagues, teams and media companies have formed more than 300 partnerships. This is certainly a vast departure from the pre-2018 status quo, when a sportscaster’s veiled reference to a bad beat was usually the most the industries would intertwine. Now, new partnerships are delivering value for leagues, teams and broadcasters while deepening fan engagement. 

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We’re advancing responsible gaming education and supporting problem gambling services with more resources than ever. Take AGA’s Have A Game Plan® campaign, for example, with nearly 30 partners spanning major U.S. sports betting operators, leagues and teams, media companies, operators, suppliers and other industry stakeholders.

Investments in consumer education and tools, compliance and employee training, problem gambling services, and scientifically independent research demonstrate the broader industry’s dedication to working together to get the sports betting opportunity right.

Is there more we can do? Absolutely. And we will. Because we recognize responsible gaming is core to our social license to operate and must continue to deepen with every state that legalizes.