Super Bowl Betting Tally Helps Make the Case for Legalized Sports Gambling – TheStreet.com

Gamblers placed wagers totaling a record $132 million on Super Bowl LI Sunday at Nevada sports books. However that amount represents a drop in bucket compared to the $4.5 billion of bets placed illegally on the game.

Nevada is currently the only state where gambling on sports is legal, but the black sports betting market is estimated to account for 97% of all wagers placed, according to theAmerican Gaming Association.

These bettors rely on offshore sports books, online means and illegal bookies to satisfy their tax-free gambling needs thanks to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act signed in 1992 that made Nevada the only state to legally place bets on sports.

"Vegas currently has a monopoly on sports betting," Erik Balsbaugh of the American Gaming Association toldTheStreet. "The internet has changed a lot of things in the industry though, and it's time for the U.S. to catch up."

The sportsbook from companies like MGM Resorts (MGM) andLas Vegas Sands (LVS) on the Las Vegas Strip comprises between 1.5% and 2% of total gaming revenue annually, according to Union Gaming analyst John DeCree.

Betting on the Super Bowl, both legal and illegal, was up year over year in spite of the fact that viewership for the big game was down from a year ago.

Legal sports gambling is good for the game, Balsbaugh argued, because people with something riding on the game tend to be more attentive to the games and are more likely to even watch the commercials during a broadcast.

Continued here:

Super Bowl Betting Tally Helps Make the Case for Legalized Sports Gambling - TheStreet.com