Supreme Court Ruling To Legalize Sports Betting

On May 15, 2018 the United States Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). As a result of the decision, States now control if they Will or Will NOT legalizes sports betting.

States like New Jersey took action on this ruling immediately.  State Governor Phil Murphy signed NJ sports betting into law in June 2018, and the first legal bets were days later. From the signing New Jersey was able to deploy online/mobile sportsbooks in July of 2018.

On the opposite end of the spectrum – as of January 2020, the state of Florida has not legalized sports betting.  No legislation to legalized sports gaming has been proposed as well.

In looking at the industry you have States taking action Vs States not taking action.

Draftkings, Fanduel, William Hill, etc. – main stream operators will naturally pivot into the sports betting space.  However, the legalization of Sports Betting creates even more opportunities for casual sports gaming organizations.  Organizations that operate FREE 2 Play business models.

Legalized Sports Betting – Impact On Casual Sports Gaming Industry

Short term revenue!  The fist thing readers need to understand is that legalized sports betting is SHORT TERM REVENUE.  Leagues like the NHL look at legalized gambling as an engagement tool.  It is a tool that drives viewership.  Fans placing wagers on a Hockey event – increases the likelihood of that fan consuming NHL content.  Increased viewership and longer retention spans increases sponsorship dollars for the league.

‘The holy grail of sports betting is not the short term gambling
revenue. We always saw, and we still see gaming, as a fan
engagement opportunity. Fan engagement is the holy grail of sports
betting”

– Keith Wachtel, NHL – Chief Revenue Officer

For casual sports operators, the legalization of sports gaming provides additional opportunities to generate short & long term revenue.

How Legalized Sports Betting Helps Casual Gaming Companies Drive Short & Long Term Revenue

• Legitimacy – Casual sports gaming organizations operating a FREE 2 Play model have challenges.  They face challenges from the marketplace in being labeled as a GAMBLING outfit.  Event though this may not be true, legalized sports gaming offers increased social acceptance of their business.  It legitimizes business models and overall market position.

• Incubator – What about the millions of sports fans who are not comfortable in creating cash based sports gaming accounts?  Free 2 Play sports gaming organizations cultivate the market.  If the right SYSTEMS are built, affiliate sales can drive revenue.  Segmenting data captured from within casual games can be leveraging in making sales.  Data drives leads and opportunities when used correctly.

• Engagement – Casual games that demonstrate engagement will generate long term strategic opportunities.  Licensing or White-Labeling opportunities will emerge.  Show organizations how to better engage sports fans and how such engagement leads to stronger retention… powerful story to tell.

Of course – StatementGames is a casual sports gaming operator that is using its core product to capitalize on short & long term opportunities.