Everyone who loves sports betting and is from the USA had many difficulties finding where to bet on their favorite teams. There is a good reason for this, and it is called the PASPA act of 1992. This act forbade sports betting throughout the country. It wasn’t, however, completely exclusive, as some states found ways of making sports betting legal, either through being excluded from the PASPA act or by using Native American reservations, as they were also excluded from the PASPA act.
2018 brought a lot of changed to sports betting in America, and here is how all of that started. It’s good to have in mind that you can now bet online if you are in certain states in America.
More than One State for Sports Betting
Prior to 2018, people could place sports bets in Nevada, only. That was very restrictive, and all the sports fans throughout the United States either turned to online betting, which while sort of legal, is still in the grey area of legality. Many simply gave up any hope on sports betting.
Not everyone, though, especially not New Jersey. During the World Cup of 2018, New Jersey’s governor Phil Murphy signed away the permission for every New Jersey citizen above the age of 21 to be able to place sports bets, offline and online. Phil Murphy was also the first person to place a legal sports bet in New Jersey, at the Monmouth Racetrack on June 14th 2018. Many casinos were ready to offer sports betting, not long after the law was passed.
Delaware was actually the first to legalize sports betting in their casinos dedicated to horse racing. Yet New Jersey beat them to it. Regardless, citizens of both states were able to place sports bets in June of 2018.
The states of Mississippi and West Virginia followed up. Rhode Island and Arkansas were right behind. The year of 2019 will also see Connecticut and New York joining in by updating their own sports betting laws. Many other states are also planning on legalizing sports betting and are looking at drafting their own bills. The states of Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Iowa, Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts are all looking at their own bills, planning for possible sports betting expansion.
Even the state of California, which is rather notorious for its indecisiveness over online poker, is looking at sports betting with interest.
Following the Leader
Many wish to follow in the steps of New Jersey, if for no other reason, then increased profit. Revenue has grown quite a lot since sports betting and online sports betting were legalized. The months of august and September are very lucrative when it comes to sports betting. Other states have also noticed the increased revenue. The legalization of sports betting and online gambling will turn those who lost hope back to their favorite hobbies and teams.