Betting on sport is something that has proved increasingly popular in recent years. Maryland has launched retail sportsbooks but, in the UK, they have had online sportsbooks for a fair while now. In terms of legislation though, the situation in the US compared to that in the UK is becoming rather different. That’s because regulation on its way in the UK.
The current situation in Maryland is different from that in the UK. It seems to be far more positive and betting companies aren’t worried about restrictions being placed on them.. At present, there is only retail sports betting available at casinos. There had been a long wait for sports betting to be legalized.
December 2021 saw retail sportsbooks launched but not online betting. March 2022 saw the five retails sportsbooks take legal bets worth just over $31.5 million. Online betting may begin in September 2022 and would result in far more betting taking place. It’d also significantly increase the tax revenue received by the state from the current estimate of around $15 million a year. An online launch in Maryland would also be good news for the UK gambling industry.
Why? Well, In the UK, they are keeping a very close eye on what is happening across the pond. When in 2018, a US Supreme Court judge ruled that individual states could decide if they wanted to legalize gambling, that was important on both sides of the Atlantic. Some states have already legalized online casinos, check out this list of online casinos with a $5 minimum deposit only.
An increasing number of states have introduced sports betting. That has seen top UK companies such as William Hill (now owned by Caesars Entertainment), 888sport, Bet365 and Entain (who own companies such as Coral and Ladbrokes) forming partnerships with US gambling companies. They have the experience of running a sportsbook and have proved invaluable as the US gambling industry expands.
Several of the UK companies have been recently releasing their Q1 results. The information they provide and their statements on the future of their companies regularly include their plans for further US expansion. Something that will happen if more states legalize sports betting.
888sport recently announced a fall in year-on-year Q1 revenue but the gambling company are still confident of success. Their report stressed the importance of their business in the US. A new President of their US operations has been announced. Howard Mittman will help with the partnership they have with Authentic Brands Group and the SI Sportsbook.
The company has World Series of Poker rooms and are soon to launch in Michigan. Their CEO Itai Panzer believes the rest of 2022 will see 888sport “further grow a profitable business” in the US.
Evolution have become the Kings of the online casino. They work with FanDuel supplying their extremely popular products. When Maryland does finally launch online casinos, it is likely you will find yourself playing at a live casino that Evolution have created. More games are being released and the impressive figures that they have will continue to please their company bosses.
Entain were certainly happy about their Q1 figures with their Group Net Gross Revenue up 31%. Their work with BetMGM has now got to the stage where they have access to over 41% of the adult population. That figure is expected to rise in the future, according to britishgambler.
All of this is important to the UK gambling companies because of what may soon happen at home. The UK government is carrying out a review to the Gambling Act passed 17 years ago. They are due to supply information on what they have planned in May of this year. There is talk of banning gambling companies sponsoring sport. This brings them a great deal of exposure, but many feel it is just encouraging people to become gamblers.
Recent months have seen the UK Gambling Commission issue fines to the value of millions of pounds to companies they licence. Fears of allowing at-risk customers to simply carry on betting more money and possible money-laundering leads to fines.
The UK Gambling Commission have just released figures for the year to March 2022. They show a 3% rise in overall participation but still below the figures from before the Covid-19 pandemic. Around one in four Brits are indulging in online gambling, a slight rise on last year.
While companies in the US are just waiting for more states to legalize gambling, there are problems in the UK. William Hill have even put millions of pounds aside just in case a big fine comes their way. It is no surprise therefore that UK gambling companies are looking at the US, Canada, and Latin America as the areas where expansion can lead to maintaining and improving their revenues.
