SHOW LOGIN FORM

Multiply Your Super Bowl Fun

Multiply Your Super Bowl Fun

Sports betting may technically be illegal under federal law, but Super Bowl LI is proof that the industry is alive and well. The American Gaming Association (AGA), released an estimate that US citizens will bet $4.7 billion on Super Bowl 51between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, marking an 11 percent rise from last year’s Super Bowl. Yet 97 percent of bets – approximately $4.5 billion – will be placed illegally due to a failed federal ban signed into law in 1992.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA, dictates that Nevada is the only state permitted to offer traditional sports betting, where about $132 million will be wagered through sports books by kickoff. Despite this ban, sports betting has only grown more prevalent. In fact, in 2016 alone, Americans wagered an estimated $154 billion on all sports, nearly all of it through bookies and offshore, illicit web sites.

“As we mark the 25th anniversary of a failed law, it’s time for Washington to get out of the way and lift the federal prohibition that pushes sports fans to a rapidly growing illegal betting market,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA. “A regulated marketplace would generate tax revenue and jobs, protect consumers and leverage cutting-edge technology to strengthen the integrity of the games we all love.”

The ability to protect the integrity of games through rigorous data analysis and complex, real-time algorithms is only possible in markets where sports wagering is effectively regulated. This is something that wasn’t available in 1992.

“Rather than setting the standard, the United States is on par with Russia and China, having forced a groundswell of black-market gambling by prohibiting the popular pastime of sports betting. This was the conclusion of a 2016 report advocated for a legal, regulated sports betting market that’s transparent and capable of detecting suspicious betting activities. Get all the latest Betting and Sport News updates on your social media outlets. Find us on both Facebook and Google+!

In coming up with its illegal gambling estimates on the Super Bowl, the AGA took the most conservative estimate of illegal sports betting activity ($80 billion per year) from the 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission’s Final Report. It applied GDP growth as reported by the Census Bureau to make this current to today. Finally, the AGA assumed that the proportion of legal gambling activity on the Super Bowl at Nevada sports books is the best available indicator of what proportion it might make up in the illegal market, and applied this ratio to the larger illegal gambling figure.

The big game is around the corner and HeritageSports has a few thrilling options at your disposal to multiply your fun while you watch the game.

Grab your Free Squares in the online Super Bowl Pool and get a chance at some of the prize money, with our squares pool. Choose from more than 1000 props or choose the sport, the game, and the individual player that you wish to bet on, then select from a range of lines offered based on that player’s performance.

Share this post