Imagine walking into a Buffalo Wild Wings to watch football over the weekend and being able to bet on any game from one of their 1,200 restaurants in the United States. The sports bar chain is exploring that option after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of states making decisions about sports betting in May.
A 1992 law made commercial sports betting illegal in most states. It gave immunity to Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware as those states already legalized some forms of betting. On May 14, 2018, the law was struck down to allow individual states to legalize betting. Since the ruling, New Jersey and Mississippi have joined the list, with West Virginia legalizing it starting Sept. 1.
There is another group of states that are in various stages of legalizing sports betting, including Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, California and South Carolina, among others.
Geoff Freeman, former president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, said in a statement that the ruling was “a victory for the millions of Americans who seek to bet on sports in a safe and regulated manner.”
If states embrace the new industry, they can set up legislation to allow the booming industry to grow in an ethical and safe way, free from large gambling addiction problems.
“Through smart, efficient regulation this new market will protect consumers,” Freeman said. “[It will] preserve the integrity of the games we love, empower law enforcement to fight illegal gambling, and generate new revenue for states, sporting bodies, broadcasters and many others.”
A number of the largest sports organizations, including the MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA and NCAA have been against the legalization of betting to preserve the integrity of sports, among other reasons. Recently, however, some leagues, like the NBA and MLB, are taking a stance to create laws to protect sports as legalization becomes more likely.
Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, wrote that he believes sports gambling should be legalized and regulated in an Op-Ed for the New York Times in 2014. He later suggested legislation that could detect unusual activity and create a one percent “integrity fee” that would go directly the association being bet on.
As for North Carolina, don’t expect changes to come very quickly. The traditionally conservative government has spoken out against gambling in the past and seems to stand by those beliefs, even with neighboring states working toward legalization.
States that lag behind could be missing out on will likely be a multi-billion-dollar industry. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, there were $4.7 billion in wagers in 2017 and $248.8 million in revenue for the state.
North Carolina, with a population of 10 million, is three times larger than Nevada’s count of 3 million people, so it is very possible for bigger states to see similar or greater numbers, especially as it becomes easier to bet from home or on the go through mobile apps.
While there is a law in North Carolina that prohibits any operation or betting in any game of chance, there will always be ways around the system. The American Gambling Association estimated that there are $150 billion in illegal sports wagers every year. States could be making money off of this if it was legalized.
The hand of the North Carolina government could be forced in the next couple years to keep money in the state if people take their bets across state lines, to South Carolina for example, to place legal bets.
North Carolina citizens who want to involve themselves in sports gambling are likely already doing it through websites that allow betting on individual games and props. Legalizing it, which seems inevitable as the industry grows, would bring millions in revenue for the state and help the overall well-being of the economy.
