Whilst the iGaming market in the U.S. may still some way away from fulfilling its true potential, the decision of the Supreme Court to strike down a federal ban on sports betting has given individual states the authority to legalise this practice.
This could help to legalise both on and offline sports betting nationwide, creating a foundation for future growth in a potentially huge marketplace.
In the year since this law was overturned, a number of states have legalized sports betting whilst others are planning similar reforms. Here are three states that may well look to legalize sports betting in the near-term:
1. New Hampshire
We start with New Hampshire, which recently saw sports betting legalised in the form of an official bill. This creates provisions for both physical and mobile operators to accept sports bets from locals, with experts estimating that the first legal wager will be placed in early 2020.
So, whilst there are now racetracks currently active in New Hampshire, the proposed legislation would allow for up to 10 bricks-and-mortar betting hubs and five virtual operators available to gamblers who are on the move.
The mobile component of this legislation is crucial, especially given its close proximity to New Jersey. The latter state is a pioneer in the sports betting market and has seen a huge lift from New Yorkers crossing the border to place legal wagers, and there’s no doubt that New Hampshire could also benefit from this during the next 12 months.
2. New York
You would think that a progressive state authority like New York would have led the iGaming market, but the fact remains that it has continued to lag behind its neighbors.
So, although the New York Gaming Commission recently passed legislation to allow in—person betting in four upstate casinos, lawmakers have struggled to pass bills relating to mobile and online wagering.
Such legislation came close to being passed last summer, when the state Senate passed a bill with provisions for online betting. However, this was subsequently defeated in the Assembly, with no plans to resurrect this in the immediate future.
With this in mind, sports betting online is unlikely to be accessible in New York until 2021 at the earliest, but this will be an interesting space to watch in the future.
3. Pennsylvania
Next up is one of the region’s most progressive states, with Pennsylvania having legalised virtual gambling in 2018.
Whilst mobile betting may be officially live in the state, however, there is a catch that bettors need to be aware of. The regulated SugarHouse Casio app was launched on May 28th, for example, this only currently works on Android-powered laptops and mobile devices, which has capped the size of the market at a value of $44.6 million.
If you own an iPhone or iPad, you’ll be unable to wager online at present and this is unlikely to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future. Just keep your eyes peeled for future software and legislative updates as they’re released!
