Jake Williams, vice president of legal and regulatory affairs at Sportradar, sets out the case for regulated mobile sports betting across the US.
ONLINE and mobile wagering has quickly become the preferred method of sports betting in the US and the numbers bear this notion out. For example, of the US$4.58bn wagered in the New Jersey since the fall of PASPA, 83.8 per cent ($3.84bn) was wagered using laptops, desktops and smartphones (mobile). In Pennsylvania, 80 per cent of wagers are made through mobile devices and in Indiana that number is roughly 72 per cent. Yet despite this apparently strong consumer preference towards mobile wagering, legislators in many states considering the authorisation of sports betting have been hesitant to embrace the mobile component.
Concerned parties may see the spread of gambling to mobile phones as an insidious threat to society. Not only are these fears unfounded in the reality of the US sports betting landscape, but the legalisation of mobile sports wagering could be the single most important tool in the promotion of a safe, consumer welfare-focused sports wagering ecosystem.
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