Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2018, online sports gambling has become increasingly common in the United States. Before this, states that had no laws regarding online betting could do nothing about it. However, three years ago, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was struck down and today, 26 states have legalized sports betting. 

Casual bettors can participate in sports betting during the games of some of the biggest sporting leagues in the world, such asthe National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB). Now that the pandemic has passed, individuals once again have the opportunity to partake in online betting. 

Online Sports Betting in the USA

Recently, there’s been an increase in the volume of bets being placed. This wasn’t recorded or seen much during the past and pre-season NFL games but during annual holidays there’s a noticeable rise in bets particularly with NCAA Football. 

Americans have been spending enormous amounts of money on sports. As of 2018, 65 billion dollars have been spent as per Legal Sports Reports. Additionally, New Jersey challenged Nevada’s monopoly on sports bets which the Supreme Court took into consideration. Since then, there has been legislation that has encouraged more states to participate in this activity. 

New Jerseyhas now soared past Nevada’s record of being the state with the most sports bets per month. As of June, Nevada made up only 15% of the money that was being wagered in the United States. 

Goldman Sachs has estimated that sports betting, particularly that which occurs online, could easily increase by 40% over the next decade. Investors have taken an interest in this projection. A renowned company that includes numerous online gaming companies, the BETZ exchange-traded fund, has grown exponentially since the last year. There’s also been asurge in the ads being displayed regarding online gaming. 

This is recorded to be the first time that during official NFL broadcasts, advertisements will be run that promote content related to betting. The advertising business will naturally take advantage of this situation and release ads that specifically market and target sports fans. 

With the feasibility and ease that the internet has provided, gambling has become extremely accessible and enabled millions of people to engage and interact with each other. These messagesand gambling ads are now accompanied by a warning message or disclaimer. It warns people about addiction and how to seek help for those who believe they’ve developed a problem they can’t curtail. 

Gambling All Over the World

It is estimated that by 2025, the sports betting revenue in the United States will be projected to be 7 billion dollars. This highlights the domestic appeal for betting. As for the global sports betting market, it has been projected to exponentially grow by another 144 billion dollars between the next five years. 

It isn’t just the United States that has fixated their attention on betting, even the gross gambling revenue in Europe has been estimated to be worth 24 billion Euros. This includes all forms of betting, which are casinos and online lotteries. In ascending order, Italy, U.K, Germany, France, and Spain had respectively generated the most revenue. 

As of 2019, Europe’s online gambling revenue made up a staggering total of 41% of the total gross gambling revenue. As of 2024, it has been projected that this industry will garner 94 billion dollars. 

Online betting or wagering continues to be a burgeoning force. Europe has been credited with being the leader in online betting but there continue to be more traditional ways to access and learn about gambling, such as in Latin America, there are still casinos that have gaming machines that allow gamblers to wagering bets. 

In a surprising turn of events, another leader in the gambling industry is China. Specifically, the region of Macau generates the most gambling revenue. The trend is expected to exponentially increase and with the rise in new betting platforms, the emergence of more gamblers continues to increase.

Legalization of Betting Worldwide

Sports betting is legal in many parts of the world. In some countries, casinos dominate the industry and in other places, locals bet on various sporting events. But, there are a lot of countries that have instated various rules and regulations that prevents the online sportsbooks from being able to conduct online sports betting. 

One of the major reasons for these regulations are backed by religious beliefs. Most Arab and Middle Eastern countries identify online sports gambling as an immoral act and prevents individuals from placing bets. In other countries, there are no safety protocols in place to protect online sports betters from scams. Match fixing became a huge issue in online sports betting, causing people to think twice about online sports betting. India & Australia were two of the countries, where the odds were adjusted according to the fixed match’s results to earn more profits and increase the loss of their customers. 

Some of the countries and their laws surrounding online sports betting have been shown below:

• Argentina only allows betting on horse racing and all forms of online betting and gambling are prohibited. 
• In Brazil, sports betting has remained banned since 1946.
• In Qatar, gambling activities and casinos are banned due to religious restrictions. 
• In India, online betting on sports is legal in some states. 
• Malta, despite being tiny, is a popular gambling location. 
• In Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, sports betting is legal. 
• In the United Kingdom, sports betting has been legal since 1961. 

Online betting has changed significantly over the past few years. Various sites and platforms have made it very easy for people to place bets online for games that are taking place miles away. Betting Sites Ranking provides a list of sports betting sites that you can access safely. 

About the Author

Lisa is a recent graduate who occasionally places online bets on NFL matches.