Sports betting has only been legalized in the United States for just over a year now and already several individual states are seeing great success. New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia and of course Nevada are just a few examples of states that offer sports betting and have seen nice revenue numbers. Additional states are working on getting started and even more are expected to legalize the option in the near future. In the next five to ten years, experts feel that the mobile sector of sports betting will house most bets wagered.
Mobile Push
Already, in states where mobile sports betting is offered, the majority of bets are placed via smartphone. New Jersey is a prime example as to how mobile is a driving force behind wagers placed. The state sees around 80% of monthly wagers placed via mobile devices. Experts have now weighed in as to why they feel that mobile will eventually take over as the format for sports betting.
The East Coast Gaming Congress took place in Atlantic City this week with technology experts and gambling executives revealing that they feel in the next five to ten years, around 90% of sports betting will take place via mobile.
Take New Jersey for example. Since the ruling by the United States Supreme Court in May, the state has taken in close to $3 billion sports bets. Of that number, around 80% took place online. The percentage is only going to increase for the state as well as in the US as a whole with online sports betting coming in to play.
Two experts in attendance, CEO of NeoGames Moti Malul and CG Technology CEO Parikshat Khanna, both agree that mobile betting will be up to around 90% over the next few years. The belief is that innovation will drive mobile to be even more popular than it is today.
CG began offering sports betting apps in 2009 and in a two year time frame, saw the mobile percentage jump to 60%. In the United States, around eight individual states offer sports betting. even more are set to start offering services thanks to legislation that passed earlier this year. Soon, we shall have an even larger overall industry than ever before.
Society Moves to Mobile
It cannot be denied that we are a mobile world. Every year, mobiles are used to do even more from shopping and social connections to medical needs, and more. Consumers use mobile devices now more than ever and it is only expected to become more intertwined with every day life.
However, it is still difficult for some states to pass online gaming into law. Several states have pushed for sports betting but only on the land-based front. It has been difficult to convince some lawmakers that there is a drive for mobile wagering. Some lawmakers feel that mobile should be avoided altogether while others want to get sportsbooks established first in land-based venues.
Yet, it is easy to see just how popular mobile devices are today, even in the sports betting world. States like New Jersey are a glowing example as to how mobile can be successful. It’s all about convenience. Players like to have access to what they want, when they want. With mobile devices, players are able to place sports bets from wherever. The ease of use is why players want to gamble via mobile phones. Without it, players have to visit land-based venues as that is not as easy as it may appear.
All eyes will certainly be on the sports betting industry of the United States over the next few years to see just how mobile comes in to play and how it affects the industry as a whole.
