With sports betting now legal and regulated in 30 states and Washington, D.C. — and likely launching in three more states this year — the AGA wants the Justice Department to “stamp out” the illegal market.
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, AGA CEO Bill Miller said the expansion of legal sports betting opportunities has cut into the illegal market’s business, but not enough.
Miller cited research conducted by the Washington, D.C., trade organization that showed 74 percent of sports gamblers believed it was important to only wager with legal providers. However, 52 percent continued to patronize illegal bookmakers. Most of the sports bettors – 63 percent – told researchers they were surprised to learn the sites they were using were unregulated and illegal sportsbooks.
“The availability of these illegal sites is driving confusion,” Miller wrote in the letter.
He said nationwide internet searches for offshore sportsbook brands increased 38 percent last year, which was “faster than the search growth for legal U.S. operators.” He added that searches for offshore brands represented a majority of all sportsbook searches. Bovada, for example, accounted for 50 percent of all searches.
The AGA found support for its effort from a DraftKings executive — Griffin Finan, vice president of government affairs — who said the Boston-based company has long maintained that “eradicating the illegal market and bringing customers onto a legal, regulated platform must be a top priority for the industry.”
Finan said without legal sports wagering, “customers are left unprotected but states are also losing out on significant tax dollars.”
Miller said the Justice Department needs to “make it a priority” to crack down on the illegal sports betting market to protect a legal gaming industry that has an annual economic impact of $261 billion nationwide and supports more than 1.8 million jobs.
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In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, AGA CEO Bill Miller said the expansion of legal sports betting opportunities has cut into the illegal market’s business, but not enough.
Miller cited research conducted by the Washington, D.C., trade organization that showed 74 percent of sports gamblers believed it was important to only wager with legal providers. However, 52 percent continued to patronize illegal bookmakers. Most of the sports bettors – 63 percent – told researchers they were surprised to learn the sites they were using were unregulated and illegal sportsbooks.
“The availability of these illegal sites is driving confusion,” Miller wrote in the letter.
He said nationwide internet searches for offshore sportsbook brands increased 38 percent last year, which was “faster than the search growth for legal U.S. operators.” He added that searches for offshore brands represented a majority of all sportsbook searches. Bovada, for example, accounted for 50 percent of all searches.
The AGA found support for its effort from a DraftKings executive — Griffin Finan, vice president of government affairs — who said the Boston-based company has long maintained that “eradicating the illegal market and bringing customers onto a legal, regulated platform must be a top priority for the industry.”
Finan said without legal sports wagering, “customers are left unprotected but states are also losing out on significant tax dollars.”
Miller said the Justice Department needs to “make it a priority” to crack down on the illegal sports betting market to protect a legal gaming industry that has an annual economic impact of $261 billion nationwide and supports more than 1.8 million jobs.
https://thenevadaindependent.com/art...-friday-target