The past decade or so has been rough for sports betting fans in the USA. The country’s restrictive laws forced most legit bookmakers to pull out of the local market and there weren’t many good choices left.
The US players had to use the services of offshore bookmakers and pick from limited payment options. It seems that the dark period will be over soon, though.
After several states opened the door, legalized USA sports betting sites continue to gain momentum. The future of the industry looks bright for several reasons.
PASPA Was Revoked in 2018
For the past several decades, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) prevented states from offering legal sports gambling or to issue a license to private companies.
It was a federal restriction that only had few exceptions, most notably, Las Vegas. If you add the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, states simply couldn’t do anything.
That’s now over because of the decision of the US Supreme Court to revoke PASPA in 2018. That move brought the power to the states so they can now decide what to do with online gambling.
Some of them instantly took action and proceeded bills that legalized various types of gambling, including sports betting.
The likes of New Jersey, Delaware, and Illinois are among the states where you can be nowadays and many more are working on it. There are public debates and bill drafts that will eventually lead to more and more legal sports betting in the USA.
In the near future, it’s expected that most states will have some kind of legislation that allows their citizens to engage in online gambling.
Change of Mentality
Another reason to believe that online betting has a bright future in the country is related to the overall change of the mentality in most states. They see clearly that simply forbidding sports betting doesn’t work well for anyone.
Some websites still accept Americans and the players find ways to bet on sports, play poker or enjoy casino games on the internet. They have to use the services of risky sites that are not licensed in a reliable jurisdiction.
Essentially, the users are getting a worse service and the state is not collecting any money from taxes.
Both can change with sensible legislation that opens the door to new sports betting sites. The example of the first states that opened the door are showing exactly that and the rest of the field is about to follow.
Conclusion
It was about time for online sports betting to become legal in the United States. There’s still a lot of work to do but the first steps have been made. 2020 is expected to be a key year as many new states should legalize internet gambling.
