First Week of Legal NFL Wagering Reveals American Love of Sports Betting

Americans really like sports betting. That’s the only logical conclusion gaming industry watchers can draw from the full weekend of legal NFL wagering in the United States since the Supreme Court left the decision regarding its legality in the hands of the states. Across the country, regulated sports books took in cash hand over fist as Americans, in states where sports betting is legal, raced to fulfill pent-up desires to bet on the NFL somewhere besides Las Vegas.
In most of the newly opened American sports wagering markets, players lined up to put down cash on their favorite teams, though a couple markets brought in less revenue than was anticipated. Here’s a roundup of some of sports betting’s debut weekend in the Land of the Free.
Mississippi was something of a surprise entry to the birth of the US sports betting market, but when the numbers are examined, it’s really not so surprising. The state’s 19 (yes, 19!) sports betting outlets reported a turnover of around $9.8 million. While that may not seem like a lot of money, you need to remember that Mississippi is not only the 16th least populous state in the nation, it’s also 50th in terms of median household income.
In Delaware, which ranks 14th on household income and 47 on population, bettors put up nearly $7 million on sports wagering.
Meanwhile, in West Virginia, where sports betting’s only been legal for a few weeks, NFL fans dropped $640,000 on sports wagering for the weekend.
Most industry watchers agree that the bulk of regulated US sports betting will take place during football season.