The 2020 Impact on the US Legal Sports Betting Industry

2020 has been a remarkable year, to say the least. COVID-19 will be The Story that characterizes the 365 days. But legal sports betting in the US took on a life of its own in 2020 and set the table for an industry that essentially proved virus and recession-proof. It figures to be one of the few "feel-good stories" of the year.

Looking back, there were a few major headlines that characterized the record-year for the US legal sports betting industry. How it navigated the COVID shutdown of retail betting locations and sports itself, the number of states that joined the legal sports betting family, and the emergence of internet-based betting were just a few. Let's take a closer look.

Sports in the Time of COVID

The sports world endured an unprecedented pause in the action in 2020 thanks to COVID-19. "The Bubble" became the way that paused leagues such as the NBA and NHL were able to carry on with their season in March. Fast thinking saved those leagues.

It all started in March with Rudy Gobert's positive COVID-19 test and the shutting down of the NBA season, a shutdown that lasted 141 days and caused leagues around the world including the NHL and European Football Leagues to follow suit. Casinos in participating states also shuttered during that time.

The cancellation of March Madness, which annually contributes $1 billion to the sports betting industry was the first real sign that the gambling industry was in trouble. MLB's delayed and shortened 60-game season also put COVID on sports' front burner.

For months, the sports betting world had to rely on table tennis, sumo wrestling, and Belarussian professional soccer. But then, once North American sports ramped up, bettors enjoyed an unprecedented period in which the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL were all playing meaningful games simultaneously, forcing sportsbooks to scramble just to keep up.

Half of US States Poised to Have Their Own Legal Sports Betting Platform

Growth in the legal sports betting industry was remarkable in 2020 despite COVID-19. By the end of the year, 19 states and the District of Columbia had launched live, legal sports gambling. Many others actually made sports betting legal in their states during 2020 by legislation or by referendum on the November Election Ballot.

Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Tennessee, Montana, New Hampshire, and Washington D.C. all came on board in 2020. States waiting in the wings to launch their own platform, thanks to some work done in 2020 are Maryland, Louisiana, South Dakota, Virginia, North Carolina, and Washington.

Whispers at the end of the year have the "Big-3" states of California, Texas, and Florida at least considering ways to bring a legal platform to their states in order to capitalize on the tangible tax revenues sports betting could bring to their jurisdictions.

Mobile Betting Takes the Lead

Mobile betting sites were the biggest winner in the US legal sports betting scene in 2020, thanks in part to COVID-19. We had record mobile hauls being smashed, new mobile betting sites emerge, Governors temporarily reversing their own in-person sign-up requirements, and even one state that launched a mobile-only platform during the year.

Mobile betting platforms in 2020 separated the "Haves" and the "Have-nots" in the US legal sports betting industry. States like New York that employ a retail-only model didn't even register on the "success radar" in 2020 and Nevada, the grand-daddy of all betting states, fell behind because of an antiquated in-person sign-up requirement for mobile sites.

All-in-all, betting apps became responsible for just north of 80% of the record-setting National sports betting handles of 2020. In New Jersey alone, $872 million of the insane $931,620,415 November handle, or 93.6% came from internet betting. Nevada, by contrast, saw $344 million come in from mobile apps in November, or just 56.43% of its total.

Barstool Sports, perhaps one of the most anticipated mobile app launches ever came to fruition in 2020. Tennessee, the nation's first mobile-only platform exceeded expectations during their first full month of operation in November. Illinois' Governor J.B. Pritzker saw the writing on the COVID wall, and he has temporarily lifted that state's in-person only sign-up procedure.

It was quite a year for mobile betting in the US. Momentum was definitely created and is expected to continue into 2021 and beyond.

In The End...

2020 was somehow a record-setting year for the US sports betting industry despite the impacts of COVID-19. The 365 days identified just what is important for bettors, and separated the contenders from the pretenders in the race to be America's most bet-friendly state.

The arrow keeps pointing way up on the US legal sports betting industry as we head into this new year. The October National handle reached $3.25 billion, November should approach $3.5 billion. December, with the return of Basketball, could even eclipse that record-number.

In the end, there wasn't a whole lot of good that came from the year 2020, but the exponential growth and the overall acceptance of the legal sports betting industry in the US was certainly one.