The Coronavirus pandemic changed the lives of Americans, and pretty much everyone else around the world. And as in every other aspect that was affected by COVID-19, professional sports and everything that has to do with the sports industry, including sports betting, suffered a major setback with leagues being shut down. Players, staff and fans sit at home with competitions being held, no games played and not even televised sports events to follow.
The shutdown of major sports leagues is of course taking its toll on all markets and businesses that rely on sports, including broadcasting rights, ticket sales and of course sports betting. This, resulting in a massive loss of revenues to the leagues themselves and the community and economy at large. However there are also many that are looking at these difficult times as an opportunity to innovate and prepare for what the future holds.
Sports will return to our lives sooner or later, however things may look very different once leagues resume play. There are already talks in many of America’s major sports leagues on how to go back to business, and many of these plans involve a shorter season and playing at empty stadiums at initial stages. But what’s going to happen with sports-betting? And how is the sportsbook industry in the US and around the world going to resume activity when sports come back?
State Legislation
Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) that banned sports betting anywhere outside of Nevada was deemed unconstitutional in May 2018, over 20 states have already signed legal bills that allow sports betting. Many others are in advanced stages of legislation and are expected to launch sports betting soon. Currently sports betting is legal in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Indiana, Delaware and beyond.
Safety, Security and Trust
As sportsbook operators are fully licenced and regulated by the state, gambling and sports-betting is no longer run by an offshore, illegal syndicates. So punters can go online, or install a legal sports-betting app on their mobile device, allowing them to enter details, deposit funs and place bets in safe and secure settings. Safety also extends to betting limits and problem-gambling support and policies, and of course there’s the trust factor, where players always know that they are always paid their winnings.
Online and Mobile Sports Betting
Online gambling is already seeing a huge growth, and it’s expected to grow even bigger. Social distancing is making more people turn to mobile sports-betting apps and online sports-betting websites. These are perfectly safe and legal, and allow punters to place bets from anywhere, at any time. So be it watching a game live at the stadium when it’s possible again, or at home in front of the TV, the next bet is as far as the mobile phone. This convenience is becoming a norm during these days of social distancing, and thus it will affect the way brick-and-mortar sportsbooks will return to operate as they did before the pandemic. Many sportsbooks will rely more on technology moving forward.
Big Brands Going Online and Mobile
The online and mobile revolution that sports-betting is undergoing these days in the US has also captured the attention of huge hospitality and gambling brands that we are synonymous with land-based casinos and hotels. And thus, beside the famous online sports-fantasy brands like FanDual and DraftKings which offer legal sportsbook mobile apps and websites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia and many other states; there are also sports-betting apps powered by Caesars, MGM, Borgata, Mohegan Sun, Hard Rock and other big entertainment giants.
