The Supreme Court legalized sports betting in May 2019, which broke the longtime ban and created a potential financial blast for all involved, but now the money has finally poured in for television networks and sports leagues. Contradicting their statements before the ruling in May when gambling was illegal, these leagues condemned any sort of betting, stating that it would hurt the integrity of the game. It later changed. 

Without a doubt, the Super Bowl has always been a major day for sports betting. When the Sunday night football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers were clashing head-to-head, other high numbers made some headlines throughout the nation. It was predicted that 26 million Americans would gamble 6.8 billion dollars on almost anything pertaining to the game, whether it be the coin toss, the color of Gatorade that’s spilled on the winning coach, the length the National Anthem, how many times President Trump tweets during the half-time show and game, or how many people, as well as players, get arrested, and so on. 

Sports betting is authorized in at least 20 states, including Washington D.C. In addition to Nevada, the number of states and revenue waged started growing immensely. New Jersey’s numbers are starting to overtake Nevada’s statistics as the largest sports betting state, largely due to New Yorkers traveling to New Jersey to place their bets. However, instead of going to casinos or racetracks, gamblers are making more convenient bets online, often using smartphones near train stations just outside New York limits. 

Other sports are also benefiting from gambling. For example, according to The 2020 American Gaming Association, An estimated 216 million dollars in annual revenue for the National Hockey League is skyrocketing for the NHL in legal sports betting. The NFL has been making a tremendous 2.3 billion dollars from legal betting as well! 

Many media outlets have claimed that legal gambling is unconstitutional and that this order shouldn’t be in effect. However, the potentials for both gamblers and corporates are just taking chances. I guess we’ll have to see where our money will end up.