Mind blowing numbers on sports wagering in the USA

[cleaveland]

There are many myths associated with sports wagering in Nevada - the only state where it is legal, regulated, policed and taxed. The following are the facts about sports wagering:

• Overall, Nevada’s legal sports wagering represents less than 1 percent of all sports betting nationwide. In 2010, $2.76 billion was legally wagered in Nevada’s sports books; the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) estimated that illegal wagers are as much as $380 billion annually.
• Gross revenue for Nevada’s sports books was $151.1 million in 2010. While more than $2.76 billion was wagered in 2010, more than 94 percent of all bets placed were returned to patrons in winnings.
• Legal sports wagering helps bring more than 30 million visitors to Nevada each year and provides employment for thousands of people.
• Approximately two-third of all sports bets in Nevada are place on professional, non-college sporting events.
• The FBI estimates that more than $2.5 billion is illegally wagered annually on March Madness each year.
• Comparatively, sports book operators estimate $80 million to $90 million—less than 4 percent of the illegal take—is wagered on the tournament legally through Nevada’s 182⁽¹⁾ sports books.
• More bets are placed on the Super Bowl than on any other sporting event of the year, including March Madness.
• According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, approximately $81.2 million was wagered on the 2011 Super Bowl at sports books across the state. Even though the amount wagered was comparable with the $82.7 million wagered in 2010, nearly all of the $81.2 million was returned to bettors in the form of winnings. After paying out to bettors, Nevada sports books earned only $0.7 million on 2011’s game.
• Of the total amount bet on the Super Bowl, only about 1.5 percent is wagered legally; these bets are made by those over age 21 and physically present in the state of Nevada.
• The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimated that the 2007 Super Bowl weekend generated $109.5 million in non-gaming economic impact and attracted 287,000 visitors.
• According to Christiansen Capital Advisors (CCA), which tracks Internet gambling, online sports betting generated $4.29 billion in revenues in 2005. This is more than double the $1.7 billion generated by online sports betting in 2001.

http://www.americangaming.org/industry-resources/research/fact-sheets/sports-wagering

[cleaveland]

Are these numbers surprising to anyone else?

[flipside2469]

Jeez. That's a lot of potential $$ that a certain country lost out on.

[2daBank]

Jeez. That's a lot of potential $$ that a certain country lost out on.

we not the brightest group collectively ... but hey not like we need money or anything as our economy is doing so well!! why tax gambling when they can just tax me, man this country sux..

[cleaveland]

we not the brightest group collectively ...

It's not just a matter of being bright. Lots of Americans think that gambling is a sin according to their religion so they try to stop it as much as possible. Most people are still in the dark ages.

[baskets]

It's not just a matter of being bright. Lots of Americans think that gambling is a sin according to their religion so they try to stop it as much as possible. Most people are still in the dark ages.

fukking preach it, brother!!!

the gays and trannies got their own flag and congressmen and hog the news all the time..... "We living in the dark, we need to each other's poosies nonstop and get equal rights, we both have vaginas and have lickfests.... GIVE US MORE RIGHTS!!!"

this is what gambler's need!!! We need a flag and we need to bitch and moan on national tv that we underrepresented, we discriminated against by bad beats, we have to gamble "in secret".... why hell, if u ask me, us gamblers got it harder than the gays (that didn't sound right)


need to institute A-gamble-ative Action... whereby our paychecks are restuffed to compensate for losses. it's only fair

[2daBank]

It's not just a matter of being bright. Lots of Americans think that gambling is a sin according to their religion so they try to stop it as much as possible. Most people are still in the dark ages.

like i said,,,we not very bright as a whole..

[cleaveland]

fukking preach it, brother!!!

the gays and trannies got their own flag and congressmen and hog the news all the time..... "We living in the dark, we need to each other's poosies nonstop and get equal rights, we both have vaginas and have lickfests.... GIVE US MORE RIGHTS!!!"

this is what gambler's need!!! We need a flag and we need to bitch and moan on national tv that we underrepresented, we discriminated against by bad beats, we have to gamble "in secret".... why hell, if u ask me, us gamblers got it harder than the gays (that didn't sound right)


need to institute A-gamble-ative Action... whereby our paychecks are restuffed to compensate for losses. it's only fair

Yeah but actually most types of gambling are legal in most places in America. It's sports betting that's illegal.

If American sports bettors are gonna complain about "gambler's rights" then everyone will just say "Move to Nevada". Las Vegas is the sports betting mecca of the entire world, if sports is extremely important to you there is a very simple solution.

[2daBank]

Yeah but actually most types of gambling are legal in most places in America. It's sports betting that's illegal.

If American sports bettors are gonna complain about "gambler's rights" then everyone will just say "Move to Nevada" and that's actually the correct answer here. Las Vegas is the gambling mecca of the entire world, if sports is extremely important to you there is a very simple solution.

yet another example of our collective stupidity...i cant place a bet on a gm yet i have 10 fukkin casino's within 20 min of me, 20 dollar scratch offs at every gas station, always stuck behind some crazy bitch in the morning having her 20 losing tickets checked then after that waiting for her dumb ass to pick the next 20 tickets she wants, at same time asking if they take ebt card for her milk, cigs, and beer...fukkin land of hypocrisy

[cleaveland]

yet another example of our collective stupidity...i cant place a bet on a gm yet i have 10 fukkin casino's within 20 min of me

This is a different issue than stupidity in my opinion. I've come to the conclusion that the mafia has always dominated sports betting and they've successfully lobbied to keep it illegal outside of Nevada. That speaks to the corrupt nature of the political system in my opinion.

[MoneyLineDawg]

Until people get their heads out of their asses and stop supporting bullshit politicians we will never hit our potential as a country.......Everyone likes to mock Ron Paul, but I guarantee he would have this country making bank on gambling, weed, prostitution, and all the other underground shit that dumb motherfukkers won't legalize and take advantage of

Prohibition will never work......Wake the fukk up and stop supporting jerkoffs

[paranoyd androyd]

Gross revenue for Nevada’s sports books was $151.1 million in 2010. While more than $2.76 billion was wagered in 2010, more than 94 percent of all bets placed were returned to patrons in winnings.

Errrrrr, huh?

[baskets]

2dabank, u have some bad beats today?

you writing today looks a little sour... must not be having a good day

[2daBank]

2dabank, u have some bad beats today?

you writing today looks a little sour... must not be having a good day

didnt gamble today,,just overall feeling of this BS country...actually was in pretty good mood until reminded of how these assclowns could be taxing this shit instead of taxing me to support bums and old fukks...while at same time making it to where it takes a fukkin month to get a payout...

[HedgeHog]

Gross revenue for Nevada’s sports books was $151.1 million in 2010. While more than $2.76 billion was wagered in 2010, more than 94 percent of all bets placed were returned to patrons in winnings.

Errrrrr, huh?

It means that Nevada is making between 5-6% profit off the bets they handle.

[stevenash]

It means that Nevada is making between 5-6% profit off the bets they handle.

This.

If the 1 percent figure is accurate, more the reason for the US government to regulate online betting and tax it

[princecharles]

Never did quite understand how these sources can accurately 'estimate' how much illegal action there is.

[Thor4140]

the funny part about this is that sports betting is the number one massive revenue leader in our society and we have a majority of the people who think everything is legit. No corruption at all these would be the same idiots who are over 30 and still wear team uniforms. or people so young they just don't know any better.

[dangerfish]

Crazy numbers, US needs to regulate and get a piece of the profit, huge potential revenue stream for the country.

[jjgold]

Australia and The Uk really get it

Why is wagering not legal across entire USA??

USA is falling way behind other Countries

[TomG]

i had a dream jjgold was sitting with matt lauer discussing newly legalized internet sports betting in america

[Chi_archie]

Eye opening

[TryingMyBest]

Gross revenue for Nevada’s sports books was $151.1 million in 2010. While more than $2.76 billion was wagered in 2010, more than 94 percent of all bets placed were returned to patrons in winnings.

Errrrrr, huh?

Kind of like slots, "97% PAYOUTS!!!!" For every dollar, you get .97 back

[Nova99]

The demand is there for people to wager on sports, sports is a huge part of the society here and worldwide. But even if you legalize sports gambling the underworld will still find a way to take a large portion of the profits. They can offer better lines, bets on credit, loan sharks, higher limits, etc.

It appears the revenue to be made from sports gambling is small according to those numbers, the main benefit is the visitors on a big sporting event, money made off transportation, lodging, and other entertainment expenses. This will likely be a big obstacle to legalizing it across the us, who will take on the job other than big casino complexes where they can benefit from the wager as well as taking in other expenses from the bettors? I think the main reason many are not on board is because they do not see large financial benefits of legalizing sports gambling.

[taxer]

i think those numbers are far off reality , lots of these places put these numbers up or decoarte their books in order to get bank loans to finance future proyects

[flipside2469]

What's the big difference to any US person anyway if they legalize it and tax the shit out of it? You're still going to keep your offshore account and you'll probably still use that more than anything because it isn't taxed. The US can't crackdown on illegal (offshore) gambling now, what makes you think it'll be any different if they do legalize it?
Gambling is all about getting the best value and earned value. Hmmmm, should I do this and get taxed, or do this and not get taxed? Why would I pay more for the same exactly loaf of bread, when I could easily pay less at this other store? And please, please don't say ethics. HA!!

[tgoodm1]

Do you really know what you are talking about? US doesn't need to get involved. You'll regret it.

[flipside2469]

I guess what I meant to say is that legalizing it in the US for the sake of creating revenue and cut ting down on the illegal stuff, has more negatives than positives. The time and effort wouldn't be worth the hassle. Leave as is.

[SportsMozart]

Imagine if these fukkin idiots would legalize all and tax all that! Nope that would be just too smart thing to do

[StackinGreen]

flipside is right ... you're going to look for more value. Actually, this would be an interesting experiment that would shed some light on the legalization of drugs issue. Would there still be a market for others to undercut the government that now handles gambling (drugs)? It seems so. That would of course help the player on several levels due to competition availability and/or opting for security.

On the other hand did you see what happened to horse racing in New York? They have a guaranteed money maker and fukk it up with vigs twice as high or more than sports gambling ... more reasons not to entrust things to government.

[sbrhedge]

The thing that worries me about legalizing and taxing gambling is they are going to start off with a teaser tax rate like 5-10% to make people legally report it.

THEN they are going to eventually jack up the rates to highest tax bracket and then they will track all of your betting income based on your past history. Now everyone at that point is stuck.

The worst part is they are going to force the books to do some kind of 1099 W-2 or whatever the hell you call it kind of tax witholding on EVERY SINGLE TICKET, and they will make you sign up for a players card that you have to swipe on every bet so that it gets reported to the IRS.

THAT'S the REAL PROBLEM that I see in the future.

[MoneyLineDawg]

It's just the principal of it to me that pisses me off more than anything......Why the fukk can we not LEGALLY place bets with our own fukkin money??

[cleaveland]

What's the big difference to any US person anyway if they legalize it and tax the shit out of it? You're still going to keep your offshore account and you'll probably still use that more than anything because it isn't taxed. The US can't crackdown on illegal (offshore) gambling now, what makes you think it'll be any different if they do legalize it?
Gambling is all about getting the best value and earned value. Hmmmm, should I do this and get taxed, or do this and not get taxed? Why would I pay more for the same exactly loaf of bread, when I could easily pay less at this other store? And please, please don't say ethics. HA!!

Odds in Las Vegas are right in line with most online books. If sports betting is legalized in the US then Las Vegas books will start websites and offer the same lines they offer in Las Vegas. It would be a dream situation where everyone in the world could wager with Las Vegas sportsbooks with their lines, limits, rules, and security. I don't understand what you're saying.

[flipside2469]

I guess what I'm getting at is that the US is going to want to get their cut (taxes) in a big way should they legalize sports betting. I'm just saying, "why would someone NOT use their offshore as opposed to doing it legally?" I mean, cmon, seriously, how many people on here claim their winnings from their offshore? You don't do it now, so why would you want to even if they would legalize it?

With the loaf of bread example, I guess I should've asked, " why would you buy a loaf of bread that was taxed the shit out of, when you could buy the same exact loaf of bread tax exempt?"

Everyone is so gung ho about legalizing it, probably because of the convenience factor, that we sometimes fail to see the possible fallout.

Just providing a little perspective.

Odds in Las Vegas are right in line with most online books. If sports betting is legalized in the US then Las Vegas books will start websites and offer the same lines they offer in Las Vegas. It would be a dream situation where everyone in the world could wager with Las Vegas sportsbooks with their lines, limits, rules, and security. I don't understand what you're saying.

[cleaveland]

I guess what I'm getting at is that the US is going to want to get their cut (taxes) in a big way should they legalize sports betting. I'm just saying, "why would someone NOT use their offshore as opposed to doing it legally?" I mean, cmon, seriously, how many people on here claim their winnings from their offshore? You don't do it now, so why would you want to even if they would legalize it?

With the loaf of bread example, I guess I should've asked, " why would you buy a loaf of bread that was taxed the shit out of, when you could buy the same exact loaf of bread tax exempt?"

Everyone is so gung ho about legalizing it, probably out of convenience, that we fail to see the possible fallout.

Just providing a little perspective.

What about being able to legally bet Las Vegas limits with Las Vegas books from the comfort of your own home? What about the peace of mind of knowing that your money is safe with a Las Vegas book and you'll absolutely be paid? Also, if it was legalized I'd imagine you could get instantaneous online payouts, payouts via debit cards, they'll probably come up with new methods so that you could instantaneous payouts in cash through a processor. How about instantaneous free deposits? I wouldn't be surprised if a sports book could work it out so that you could instantly transfer funds from a bank account to the book and back online and so forth. The possibilities are limitless. What about all that?

Edit: What about the peace of mind of knowing that you're not breaking the law?