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This year's Super Bowl betting was record setting, and so was the number of people watching the game. And now, even more states are considering the regulation of betting on sporting events.
Where does sports betting in America go from here?
Sports betting expansion may be slowing down, after rushing to more than 30 states. Brett Koenig can take out his smartphone and access a sports betting app from his suburban St. Louis house. However, he was unable to make a Super Bowl bet. A pop-up alert stating he is not in a legitimate place blocks him. Missouri is among the twelve states where sports betting is still prohibited, even after the U.S. Supreme Court granted states permission to allow it to happen more than five years ago. Since 2018, more than $280 billion in sports betting has generated over $4 billion in taxes for other jurisdictions. Vermont became the latest state accept sports bets in January. However, the likelihood of more sports betting expansion to more states in 2024 seems doubtful to some, due to political opposition and the occasionally conflicting financial interests of current gambling providers.
The field for additional sports betting and Super Bowl bets has shrunk to a few states where different stakeholders are all looking to “kind of maximize what they get out of the legalization framework” following a “whirlwind” of expansion, according to Chris Cylke, senior vice president of government relations at the American Gaming Association, which represents the sector. “So that might lead to some conflict.” Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah are the states where sports betting is still prohibited. The two most populated states in America, Texas and California, would offer the greatest payouts to sports bettors. However, it doesn’t seem like either will see sports betting expansion in 2024. So, residents of those states probably won't be making Super Bowl bets next year either... at least, not legal ones.
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