The “American Sports Gambler” has been named the most influential person in sports in 2018 according to Sports Business Daily. The commissioners of the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball and Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks rounded out the top five.
It is hard to deny the influence the legalization of sports betting in America has had on not just sports, but the sports media. The Action Network has been able to lure away top names like World Wide Wob and Darren Rovell. VSiN saw its business grow and formed partnerships with terrestrial stations to provide action updates. FS1 and ESPN+ both launched gambling focused shows. Leagues across all levels of all sports have discussed how gambling will effect their future, and media presentation seems to be a topic that keeps coming up.
Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia have all allowed legal sports books to open in the last six months. More than a dozen other states will do the same in 2019.
Sports books in Nevada took in more than $4.8 billion in 2017.
