Sports Betting Could Play a Big Role in the Future of Major Sports Leagues

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional on May 2018.

This act, passed back in 1992, outlawed sports betting across the United States, with Oregon, Delaware and Montana as exceptions.

The four major leagues – NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL – and the NCAA were ardent defenders of PASPA.

But this outlook has seen a significant shift since the 2018 decision.

As sports betting gains traction, it is naturally drawing attention from the leagues.

Two key factors are playing a role in this shift.

The first one, and perhaps the most obvious reason comes down to money.

The second one has to do with fan engagement and raising the audience numbers.

Major Leagues Could Profit From Sports Betting

As it stands, it’s up to state legislation to legalize sports betting.

The main point is that major leagues are starting to think of sports betting as a valuable niche with plenty of potentials.

This, in turn, makes the whole process slightly more difficult for major leagues.

Without a national ruling on the matter, making it into a profitable venture for the leagues is complicated.

One solution is already been looked into, however.

Official statistics could provide the leagues their much-wanted entrance into sports betting.

Here is how the situation plays out.

Real-time betting is growing significantly and represents a solid share of the market.

As the matches progress, bettors have the chance to wager on new props.

And this is where major leagues believe they could come in.

By making partnerships, the leagues would provide sports books with official statistics.

In turn, sports books could gain from this as well.

With official data and stats from the leagues, this would naturally make the whole process seem more legitimate.

The MLB has been particularly active, as baseball is heavily reliant on stats.

Additionally, props could also play another important role.

This is where the second factor comes in.

How Sports Betting Could Help With Getting More Fans Involved

With so much entertainment available these days, sports have seen audience numbers fluctuate.

It’s only natural that hours-long broadcasts would struggle to draw people in like in the past.

Sports betting comes in as another additional draw to get fans more invested in sports.

While some matches will have a back-and-forth nature that keeps fans glued to their seats, that’s not always the case.

Other matches will have a much slower pace or turn into one-sided beat downs early on.

In this case, there is a need to offer fans with something else to keep them entertained.

Real-time betting is being looked at as one of those options.

Leagues are now realizing that the ever-growing sports betting market could offer some help.

Props and other forms of betting during the game would allow fans to get involved.

Stats such as points scored, touchdowns, strikeouts and so on, gain much more importance in this sort of scenario.

This way, the audience would still get invested into a less exciting game.

In the not so distant future, betting will continue to play a role in driving popularity up for sports.