In May 2018, the Supreme Court in the United States overturned a 25 year ban on sports betting. It was music to the ears of those in the United States who has long been hoping to place sports bets legally in the country. The change in the situation regarding sports betting in the country allowed each individual state to create their own regulations.
Many states immediately chose to allow sports betting. Others have slowly come around to the idea but you will now find Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia all offer the opportunity for residents over the age of 21 to place a sports wager.
It is an extensive list of states but can you imagine what it was like for sports betting companies when they heard the news that each of the above states will be accepting bookmakers legally? It must have been music to the ears of European bookmakers. The biggest names in European sports betting were already well established throughout the continent both in terms of land based betting shops and online offerings.
So, to answer the question of why European bookmakers are launching in the US, the simple answer is the fact a huge, untapped market was just waiting to explode. Many of the biggest European bookmakers signed deals with US groups immediately, including Bet365, William Hill, 888 and Unibet. These are four of the biggest names in terms of European sports betting and it came as little surprise to see them quickly enter the US market.
Financial experts estimate that the sports betting market in the United States could male up to $19 billion in revenues by 2023. Every European bookmaker would have been looking at that figure in addition to those that suggested up to $150bn a year was being wagered illegally on sports in the United States. If you already own a successful business which is making money in a market that has become available legally for the first time in a huge sports loving nation like the United States, it makes perfect sense to move in and take full advantage.
As highlighted above, many European Betting companies joined forces with gambling businesses already based in the United States. GVC Holdings, who own Ladbrokes and Bwin among other online European bookmakers, created a partnership with MGM Resorts International to offer both land based and online sports betting in the US. You can find BetMGM live in the state of Colorado, New Jersey, Indiana, and West Virginia.
BetMGM is continuing to expand throughout the United States and you are sure to see the brand appearing in many other states over the next few years. With European bookmakers having the opportunity to link up with land based casino companies in the US, it makes the path easier than it would otherwise have been to open in the country.
