US sports betting action study


Monday July 15,2013 : U.S. SPORTS BETTING IS BIG BUSINESS
 
No wonder Nevada wants to keep the action to itself.
 
The magnitude of the US sports betting action was explored by NBC over the weekend, producing some interesting numbers.
 

  • The Nevada Gaming Commission has revealed that $3.2 billion was wagered in sports bets in the state’s casinos in 2011. Of that amount, $1.34 billion or 41 percent was handled just for football.
  • American Gaming Association figures show sports fans bet a record $98.9 million at Nevada casinos on Super Bowl XLVII. After paying out to bettors, Nevada sports books earned $7.2 million on 2013’s game.
  • Extrapolating from Nevada data, the financial planning website Mint estimates that more than $8 billion is wagered every year on the Super Bowl alone, an estimated 200 million people making wagers on the outcome of the game worldwide.
  • Between $60-70 billion is illegally wagered on college football each year according to CNBC.
  • Thirty-three million Americans participate in fantasy football, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. The FSTA found that $1.18 billion changes hands between players through pools each year.
  • Between $30-40 billion is illegally wagered on Major League Baseball each year, according to CNBC. Baseball is not as big as football because of the lack of point spreads.
  • The FBI estimates that more than $2.5 billion is illegally wagered annually on the three-week March Madness post-season tournament each year.
  • As much as 25 percent of illegal wagers placed on college basketball games each year comes during March Madness, according to CNBC.
  • Sports book operators estimate $80 million to $90 million – less than 4 percent of the illegal take – is wagered on the NCAA tournament legally through Nevada’s 216 sports books, again according to the American Gaming Association.
  •  One in 10 Americans play March Madness brackets according the data-processing website, Wager Solutions.com.