Sports Betting and Live Game Broadcasting Coming Soon to America

The American Gaming Association recently released a map that shows how legalized sports betting is spreading throughout America. Remember, it was a little less that a year ago that the US Supreme Court took the chains off states, allowing them to legislate regarding sports betting for it respective citizens. 

The results in 11+ months have been impressive. There are eight states (ie: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mississippi) that already allow licensed sports books to takes bets from the respective state's residents. It's noteworthy that a couple of these states, (New Jersey and Delaware) are also accepting bets online. In addition to the states already generating revenues from sports gambling, there's another three states (Indiana, West Virginia, Montana) that have already passed the required legislation, pausing only to focus on licensing. With another 20+ states looking to legalize sports gambling in the near future, it's clear the US sports betting industry is here to stay. 

On the line is somewhere between $6 billion and $12 billion in annual sports betting revenues, depending on who is doing the analysis. If the average effective tax rate is 10% per state, states stand to gain close to $1 billion is tax revenues every year. Those monies used to go to offshore bookmakers.

FanDuel Announces Possible Broadcasting Deal

In recent sport gambling news, FanDuel, the fantasy sports provider turned gambling conglomerate, is poised to sign a live sports broadcasting deal. As part of the deal, FanDuel would have the ability to broadcast lives games through its sports betting website. For fans, being able to wager on a game and see or hear it from a live broadcast on the same site is a boon. This would be particularly enticing to sports bettors who enjoy having the option to make in-game wagers. 

In Europe, there are a number of top online bookmakers that already offer these services. Getting the rights to broadcast a game takes time and lots of money. FanDuel would appear to have plenty of both. 

The motivation for bookmakers to pursue the live game broadcasting avenue is certainly there. FanDuel Sportsbook GM Niall Connell recently told Bloomberg European sportsbooks in an interview that live stream events bring is exponentially higher wagering revenues than games gamblers can't watch or hear. Clearly, the entire sports betting industry is going to be on board for this one.

For now, the idea is being tested on a tennis and soccer match. When FanDuel gets all the pieces in place, the new sports betting community will likely see its first new innovation.