ballooned to $4.33 billion of total revenue in 2021, according to the American Gaming Association.
had legalized sports betting in some fashion following the landmark court ruling, including 17 states allowing online sportsbooks.Īmericans clearly had a thirst to bet on sports as the regulated sports betting market in the U.S. Slowly but surely, states began to legalize sports betting, starting with New Jersey online sportsbooks. A tough thing to take for those who liked a wager, especially when legal betting sites were freely available in many other countries around the World.Įverything changed in 2018, when the Supreme Court overturned the gambling ban at the federal level, paving the way for states to enact new gambling laws around the country. For 25 years, sports bettors had to either fly to Las Vegas to legally place their wagers or bet illegally with offshore bookies. In 1992, Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which banned gambling on sports everywhere in the United States except for Nevada.
