While sports betting isn’t entirely allowed in the US, the betting industry is already a huge success. After the federal government lifted its ban on sports betting, the industry grew quickly. The American Gaming Commission reports that Americans have wagered about $125 billion ever since the United States Supreme Court’s decision on sports betting.
According to statistics, Americans wagered about $50+ billion legally on sports in just one year. That figure is greater than the amount from the year 2020.
Over the recent years, a lot of sportsbooks have made significant investments in marketing sports betting, and these expenditures are yielding enormous returns.
In recent years, sports betting has become legal in around new states in the U.S, which is wonderful news. Currently, betting on a sporting event is permitted in 30 states in the US.
Is this excellent news welcoming for gamblers? Discussions about including additional states this year have been spoken about, but we are waiting for it to be official. According to the highly regarded news platforms, legislation has already been approved in states like Maryland and Ohio. Plans have been kickstarted in other states.
The most recent good news for sports bettors in New York came on the 8th of January when sports betting (online) was legalized by the state. BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook FanDuel, and DraftKings Sportsbook are the earliest sportsbooks to kickoff, and their activities started excellently.
According to the official N Y gaming authorities, the four sportsbooks in question brought in nearly $600 million within two weeks of their opening. Since then, the state has also welcomed Resorts WorldBET and PointsBet. Oher sportsbooks may follow soon.
We will outline how sports betting has contributed to the growth of major sports in the United States using the NFL as a focal point.
NFL Benefits from Sports Betting
The NFL has always been the most well-liked league in America, even before the country legalized sports betting. The league is rated higher than other well-known professional leagues, including the NBA (Basketball), MLB (Baseball), NHL (Hockey), and MLS (Soccer).
It is not surprising that professional football stands out among the several sports available for betting in the nation for these reasons. Nowadays, football enthusiasts frequently research sports odds online. The league’s popularity has increased due to this tendency.
There is no question that increased NFL income and viewership have resulted from the legalization of online and offline sports betting.
The Football League Viewership
It has been established that a strong correlation exists between watching sporting events and placing bets. Sports betting boosts interest in it; the more bettors there are on a sport, the likelier they would watch the games.
And the Super Bowl statistics from this year validate this claim. The American Gaming Commission states that Super Bowl LVI broke the previous Super Bowl wagers records. According to reports, a record-breaking 31 million or more Americans wagered $7.6 billion on Super Bowl LVI. There are now 78 per cent more legal wagers and 35 per cent more Americans than in the prior year.
Have these numbers affected viewership? Yes, and in huge numbers!
Nielsen estimates that over 100 million Americans watched the Super Bowl LVI on NBC. In comparison to last year, NBC had a 16 per cent increase in viewers.
According to some streaming sites, 11.2 million people watched the Super Bowl this year, making it the highest streamed NFL game in the competition’s history.
Our Final Thoughts
The future of sports betting in the US appears bright, and this an excellent news for professional American major sports leagues.
