LAS VEGAS, NV – FEBRUARY 02: The betting line and some of the nearly 400 proposition bets for Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos are displayed at the Race & Sports SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on February 2, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The newly renovated sports book has the world’s largest indoor LED video wall with 4,488 square feet of HD video screens measuring 240 feet wide and 20 feet tall. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Whether in the form of betting on games or fantasy football, the rise of sports gambling in various forms continues to be a growing industry. Now, the support for sports gambling has gained enough momentum to be a matter that has more supporters than detractors.

According to a report from The Washington Post, 55 percent of those polled believe sports gambling should be legalized. This is quite a change from a similar study conducted 25 years ago when 56 percent of those polled believed sports gambling should not be legalized. That is a massive swing of 11 points from one end of the spectrum to the other, and that is a testament to how much the public has evolved with their views on the subject.

The data comes out at a time when the United States Supreme Court is preparing to make a ruling on whether or not sports gambling should be legalized in New Jersey. The state is pushing to be able to legalize sports gambling in an effort to stimulate the economy and the fading casino industry in the state. The legalization of sports gambling may be long overdue and may just be a slight formality to clear the path to allow for it in New Jersey.

As it stands now, Las Vegas is the main go-to spot for legalized sports gambling, but New Jersey hopes to change that soon. And of course, if New Jersey gets the ruling they desire, the doors will be opened to legalized sports gambling all over.

“Literally, we’re at the 1-yard line, and it’s first-and-goal,” said Daniel Wallach, a sports gaming law expert and attorney at Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale said to The Washington Post. “That’s how close it is.”

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the demographic most interested in legalized sports gambling falls in the 40 years and under crowd, and 35 percent of the poll responders consider themselves to be “avid sports fans.”

Support for legalization is highest among the those who’ve placed a sports bet in the past five years (84 percent), and is nearly as high among fans who have played in a fantasy sports league (79 percent), avid sports fans (70 percent), men (63 percent), people with household incomes of $100,000 or more (61 percent) and pro football fans (60 percent).There’s little partisan difference on the issue, with 52 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Democrats in support of legalizing sports gambling.

Legalizing sports gambling seems like an inevitable wall to come crumbling down soon enough, but the proverbial ball is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.

[Washington Post]

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About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.