If any U.S. legislators are thinking about clawing back on sports betting, they better think twice. A new piece of research released by the American Gaming Association (AGA) reveals that 63% of Americans support the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the federal ban on sports betting.
An overwhelming majority also support the rapid rollout of sports betting legislation. 79% of Americans surveyed support having legalized sports betting in their respective state. With sports betting either legal, or with bills on the way in 36 states already, American legislators are looking to please their constituents as soon as possible, while benefiting from the increased tax revenues that will follow as well.
66% of Americans want to keep sports betting legislation with the states. Although Congress is probably preoccupied with other items anyway, this type of opposition to a federal bill will likely keep the one proposed last year by Orrin Hatch and Chuck Schumer on hold for a while longer.
Most of the major leagues are pushing for “integrity fees,” to mixed results. Only 23% of Americans support that idea, whereas 55% oppose it. With there already being lots of good questions over why the leagues would deserve any extra money when they can’t even deliver their product now without flaws, the opposition appears to be warranted.
In the press release that announced the research paper, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the AGA Sara Slane said:
“The results of this research are abundantly clear: consumers want legal sports betting, they believe it should be regulated by state and tribal governments and they don’t think the leagues should get a cut.”
What doesn’t show up in this research, and could still be an important question for legislators, is how much of a “Not in my backyard” sentiment there is to sports book operations. Based on the reception to Pennsylvania and New Jersey offerings, it appears sports gambling in the North East will be very popular, but more conservative parts of the country will have to reckon with this question as their legislation continues to progress.
