Sports Betting In Florida
Projecting A New Wave Of Revenue Generation And Sustainability.
Sports betting is simply predicting sports result while placing a wager on the outcome. Sports betting can be done either legally or illegally. It is no news that the United States Supreme Court on the 14th May, 2018 has allowed legalized betting in all 50 states after setting aside a federal law which prevented sports betting out rightly. This development came with mixed reactions. However, it is very certain that the development was long overdue as a report even showed that a very good percentage of Americans, 55% to be precise agreed that it was high time the federal government ban on sports betting ended.
Should Florida embrace this novel evolution?
A Risk Worth Taking
If asked the million dollar question in one of the preceding lines: “should Florida embrace this novel evolution?” my answer would be short and precise- “why not?” I am of the school of the solid opinion that one cannot exactly tell how much profit something can bring until it is tried out. While it is good to look at similar case studies on the next step to take, you may have to take a risk by damning the consequences putting in all the efforts towards achieving your desired goal(s). I believe it is high time Florida took a big risk with sports betting now that greyhound racing has even closed down. Perhaps, sports betting are the miracle Florida’s revenue has been waiting for. Just maybe a trial will convince Florida’s leaders.
Sports Betting Are Not Negative
One of the points to be noted is that contrary to popular beliefs, sports betting are not as addictive as other types of gambling and betting like in casinos. May I say that sports betting are not negative and it depends on the angle you are viewing them from.
Now, after the pronouncements by the US Supreme Court on the freedom for the legalization of Sports Betting in all the 50 states, Geoff Freeman, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association said “Today’s decision is a victory for the millions of Americans who seeks to bet on sports in a safe and regulated manner.” This can be narrowed down to one thing- there is a safe and regulated side to sports betting. Freeman also agreed that a sport betting is not just a market but a responsible one when he added that “Today’s ruling makes it possible for states and sovereign tribal nations to give Americans what they want- an open, transparent and responsible market for sports betting.” Therefore, sports betting should not be “put into the trash” in Florida as a result of this misconception. Moreover, since there are casinos is Florida, why aren’t there sports betting?
Too Early To Give Up
A number of sates including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia have legalized sports betting since the Supreme Court decision and it was reported that they saw approximately $90 Million boosts on games during the first month. It is pertinent to know that New Jersey was the first among other states to legalize sports betting and this happened almost immediately after the Supreme Court in May, 2018.
However, series of posts emerged later questioning the decision of New Jersey in legalizing sports betting. One of the most recent of these posts says that the state is not receiving much in tax revenue and that the tax revenue for sports betting is way lesser than the total budget of the state. While this may be true, isn’t it rather too early to start casting aspersions on sports betting in New Jersey? The legalization is still very much less than a year and New Jersey should be given ample time to actually put things together. This is quite important as the state is setting the pace for other states that have legalized sports betting and the ones who are still considering it. Again, who says sports betting in Florida will follow the same trend as it is in New Jersey?
New York might be giving sports betting a shot this year. The governor and law makers had weighed and are still weighing the pros and cons of legalizing sports betting in New York. They are putting heads together to map out new sport betting measures so that they can get a different and a better result from betting. One thing is very clear and this should serve as an encouragement for states like Florida- the New York lawmakers cannot categorically say that they understand the situations as it is now. But, they have recognized an opportunity and they are very much willing to harness it.
If Gaming Compact Worked In Seminole Tribe, Sports Betting Can.
History shows that gaming compact served as a huge source of revenue for the Seminole Tribe in Florida. It was reported that in 2016 alone, more than $300 million was paid to the state by the Seminole Tribe. As exciting as this news is, some people have expressed a negative thought towards it. The question being asked is whether Florida will want to use money paid in by the Seminole Tribe to legalize sports betting; a venture that would not generate additional revenue for the state.
The rate at which the Seminole Tribe succeeded in gaming compact has aroused its interest in sports betting as well. Though, the tribe has not said much about it recently but one can easily attribute it to the state’s skepticism to accept the tribe’s proposition on sports betting. Since the Seminole Tribe has proved to be profitable in one aspect, the tribe should be given another chance to prove its worth in another aspect. In fact, it has been suggested that Florida law makers should start out sports betting in the Seminole Tribe whenever they are ready to push for it as any other place can be very disastrous to the income and sustainability of the state. It is projected that if sports betting start off in the Seminole Tribe in all its seven casinos, it can extend to other parts of the state in no time. This will pave way for competition in the industry and the possibility of monopoly by the Seminole Tribe will be duly prevented.
It is possible that the legalization of sports betting in other parts of Florida may not go down well with the Seminole Tribe because of the competitive nature of the industry. This can showever be handled if the competition is healthy. If the Seminole Tribe could rake in $300 Million for the state, consider this amount in 15 places. One thing should be targeted- a common goal for the state which is to increase the revenue and promote its sustainability.
Florida law makers should give this a thought. Imagine if this turns out to be more lucrative than gaming compact itself. But then, they will never find out unless and until it is legalized. So, dear lawmakers reflect on pushing for a steady money making venture for the state and leave the unknown.
Financial Benefits
Florida leaders are encouraged to take a peep into the financial benefits that sports betting can bring into the state regardless of what is going on in other states that have legalized it. Florida is highly populated with about 20 million residents and it is only normal that a good amount of sports betting in the United States happen in Florida. Therefore, Florida is considered a hot place for sports betting even though sports betting have not been legalized.
One may ask how the residents pull off this stunt since they are not allowed to bet in the state. Well, they simply make use of betting sites which are not in USA to place their wagers. These betting sites are licensed and this makes sports betting quite legal when done this way. These betting sites are referred to as off shore and in a research by Eilers & Krejcik, it was gathered that a huge amount of money ranging from $2.5 billion to $3 billion is being made off the sports bettors in the United States by these off shores. Since we have already clarified that a good amount of these off shores betting happen in Florida state, isn’t it high time Florida started diverting the money back to the state and take backs its right from these offshores betting sites?
Galvano, a Republican who is well-versed in gaming issues said in an interview- “The recent Supreme Court decision gives us an opportunity to capture a portion of the revenues from this industry, which could be a complete game changer for our budget” and he could not have said it any better. He maintained that sports betting in Florida can reduce other taxes. At the end of the interview, he promised to have the issue reviewed and discussed with his fellow Senate colleagues.
Also, Florida has an almost perfect economy, if not perfect. Marc Dubnar, a pro-gambling attorney was the one that said sports betting thrive in tourist-based economy and since Florida is one, he is very positive that the authorizing sports betting in Florida will be a very good initiative. Not only will sports betting bring additional revenue to the state, the funds can be targeted towards a course, for example, education or health care. This will promote the lifestyle of the state in any area the revenues are targeted to.
New Jersey Online Betting Sites
New Jersey online betting sites will be used as case studies as to how and why online betting sites will be a major shift for Florida. One of the best online sports betting providers in New Jersey is the 888 Sport NJ. You can have a look at the website to be doubly sure of what goes on there. This online betting site and others of its kind serve as a good source of revenue for New Jersey. These online betting sites have standard features like; User Agreement, Responsible Gaming, Banking, Bonus Policy and Cash-out Policy. In a recent report, it was highlighted that New Jersey online betting has the propensity to dominate web gaming. In fact, in September 2018, during the NFL Football season, New Jersey took in $23.9 million from sports betting with online-based sports betting taking more than half of the total revenue- $12.55 million. According to a source: “internet betting is a major boost to the online gambling market, as sports betting is the hottest U.S. casino industry offering right now” it went on to say that “ Industry revenue from online table games and online slots was $24.1 million last month, up nearly 30% year-over-year.
In other words, Florida should take a clue from New Jersey online sports betting and capitalize on it. Online sports betting have come to stay and it is turning in huge revenue for the state. Suffice to say that most reports that say sport betting is a loss for New Jersey hardly mention the huge revenue that the online sports betting bring to the state. The online sports betting, though an entirely different world from the offline sports betting should be talked about. Much noise should be made about it. Florida will certainly hit it big with this development. If online sports betting could thrive in New Jersey, it is believed that much more will be achieved in Florida. Even Nevada has joined this trend and they could not have has it any better. Florida should be the next on this list. Shall we?
Florida has closed down greyhound racing- what next? Let sports betting reign. This is the era of sports betting and Florida should not be left behind. With the legalization of sports betting in Florida, the standard of living will be better. This is because we are positive that this will be a good source of revenue, hence, the promotion of sustainable development. This should not be given a second thought anymore. We arise and take the sports betting now!