How Big Is the Sports Gambling Industry?

In 2020, the sports betting industry generated a revenue of roughly $131.1 billion US dollars. It’s estimated that by 2028, the industry will have garnered approximately $180 billion. 

The timeframe between 2021-2028 is projected to record the highest gains in the industry. Because of such magnitude that sports gambling carries, it’s no surprise that betting activities tend to coincide with major stock market events. 

The industry is clearly not a small feat by any stretch of the imagination. And, the latest updates only signal towards an even more promising future.

Capitol Hill, the States, and Paths to Legalization

More than two dozen US states have legalized sports betting; although many only allow in-person betting. [Find out more about where sports betting is legal in the United States.]

With each passing year, more and more states are legalizing sports betting. It’s only a matter of time before the betting activities increase dramatically in the coming years.

In 2018, The US Supreme Court had overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992 when the 10th amendment was introduced that had confined the betting activities to a select state only for the last two decades.   

With this new legislation, almost 7 new states went on to legalize betting by the end of 2018. Before that, only four states allowed betting. They were Oregon, Delaware, Nevada, and Montana. In 2019, eight more states adopted legalization and several more are expected to follow the suit in years to come.

Sports Betting Trends

A rise in smartphones across the globe would elevate the demand for online sports betting. This new era is also driving several new market trends. Let’s take a look at a few of those expected to make the headlines –

eSports Betting

It shouldn’t come as a surprise if eSports betting dominates the sports gambling industry within a few years only. The new trend is already generating massive figures in revenue. In 2020 alone, it generated $15 billion.

This trend was already in the making for several years but the pandemic expedited the process. The current landscape and demographic create the perfect ground for esports betting.

24/7 Sports Updates

Smartwatches and fitness trackers are how technology is enabling us to better keep track of our daily health and fitness routine. It’s only a matter of time before the general public can access health and fitness-related information of their favorite athletes. 

The knowledge of a sports injury, overall physical and mental health conditions would become available to the public.  24/7 sports updates is another trend to watch out for.

Streaming Made Exclusively Available to Sportsbooks

A major factor that significantly contributed to a rise in sports betting popularity is the combination of live betting and mobile apps. It’s only a matter of time before sports betting becomes more liberal. Once that happens, there will be a free flow of growing online channels and brands that could pursue their own deals.

Peer-to-Peer Betting Is Creating New Markets

Also known as social gaming, peer-to-peer betting is a rather new concept that has taken the betting industry by storm. It’s opening new avenues for players where they don’t work with bookmakers; rather they bet against each other. 

The concept was spearheaded by social media with social gaming. Betting companies then adopted the same approach for creating a new gambling/betting model that comes with more risk, commitment, and excitement for players.

You can compare this model to the Stock Exchange where players can back/lay a bet, make their own pricing, or accept an already set price to match with other players.

The players establish the wagers rather than a central governing party. The platform only charges a tiny percentage of the amount cashed-in or the amount wagered. The percentage is much smaller when compared with conventional fixed-odds betting.

Peer-to-peer betting is opening new avenues for small companies to create individual products and distrust the industry. 

Micro Betting, Big Bucks

First, we had conventional straight-up betting followed by in-play or esports betting. Now, next in line of evolution is micro betting. What do we mean by micro-betting? It’s when players can bet on the tiniest happenings during a game rather than the eventual outcome. 

Here are a few examples – 

Will Man United score during the possession? Will Steven hit the next 3-point attempt? Will Djokovic make an unlikely error during the next game? Micro-betting is concerned with these micro-events.

Most US sports carry accommodating cadences with numerous stoppages in games like basketball, football, and basement as compared to a running clock in sports like soccer. Therefore, the concept of micro-betting in the US sports gambling industry is expected to be a huge success (as predicted by Politzer, an analyst at JP Morgan).

The Rise of AI, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain is revolutionizing financial transactions. Experts believe that sports betting platforms could largely benefit from adopting blockchain and cryptocurrencies into the play. Sports bettors are always in need of safer, faster, and more efficient ways of transferring money. 

And, blockchain technology gives you just that. Not only bettors, but even sportsbooks could reduce their operational costs by foregoing credit card processing free with this new transaction model. Lower operational costs eventually translate to better margins and improved savings.

Conclusion

Since its early days, the sports betting and gambling industry has come a long way. Technologies like e-Betting, cryptocurrency, and the pandemic truly nudged things for all key players into a whole new direction.