Sports betting should add $1.1bn on to the annual revenues for Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association in the US, it has been reported in a new study commissioned by the American Gaming Association.
The study, by Nielsen Sports, suggested the revenues that legalised sports betting may generate for the professional leagues. It would come from advertising by betting operators, plus sponsorship and other data and from increased spend on the two leagues’ products and media.
Greater fan engagement and viewing is expected and would push up revenue from media rights, sponsorship, ticket sales and merchandise, yielding $952m for baseball and $425m for basketball from increased consumption of the leagues’ products.
A similar study was recently undertaken for AGA on football and hockey leagues, showing that they stood to gain $2.3bn and $216m respectively from sports betting.
