Legalised sports betting in the US would generate up to $5.8bn a year in gross gaming revenue, according to analysis undertaken by GamblingCompliance.
Source: LinkedIn
The findings are part of a report compiled by GamblingCompliance and available to download for free ahead of Clarion Gaming’s Sports Betting USA Conference, which takes place on November 14-15, at Convene in New York city.
The two-day conference will evaluate the appetite among key stakeholders to repeal the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, known as PASPA, which effectively outlawed sports betting in the US with the exception of sports lotteries in Oregon, Delaware and Montana, along with licensed sports pools in Nevada.
Panelist, Rick Parry (pictured), whose CV includes spells as CEO of both Liverpool Football Club and the English Premier League, as well as being former chairman of the Sports Betting Integrity Panel of the UK government’s Departure for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, believes that prohibition simply doesn’t work.
Parry explained: “There is ample evidence that Americans want to bet on sport and they do. By legalising and regulating, it is possible to put in place measures that protect the integrity of sport, consumers and the vulnerable.
“In Great Britain our match-fixing concerns come not from the well-regulated European markets but from the lightly regulated Asian markets. From a match-fixing point of view you have the worst of all worlds in the US - a substantial, highly liquid, unregulated market in your own backyard."
Vic Salerno, president of US Fantasy, the Las Vegas-based provider of skill-based fantasy wagering contests, believes that Sports Betting USA could kick start the legalisation process.
He said: "The question is, would you rather bet with Caesars Palace or the state of New Jersey instead of an off shore bookmaker where you have no control of your money and have no guarantee of being paid? We have to educate the legislators and the regulatory authorities on how betting on games legally will help keep the game honest by seeing where the money is being bet and tracking who's betting.
“This conference, the first of its type to be held in the US, will hopefully be a guide for future forums and in the process achieve the legalisation of sports betting across the US,” said Salerno.
