Summer Sports Betting Numbers

It’s taken some time to happen, but sports betting is now fully legal in most states in America. We have seen a trickle turn into a waterfall over the last five years, as most states do not want to miss out on another revenue stream from taxing sports betting sites that operate in the United States. Unfortunately, we have yet to see legal sports betting in the two biggest states in the Union (California and Texas), and the status of sports betting is up in the air in Florida as the courts decide whether or not a pact that Ron DeSantis signed with the Seminole Tribe of Florida is legal.

Bet Major League Baseball at BetRivers Sportsbook

Two of the biggest states in the Midwest legalized sports betting in January 2023, and they have been happy with their results. Michigan has raked in nearly $1 billion in revenue from sports betting according to its online tracker, and that has led to almost $50 million in payouts to various levels of government. FanDuel and DraftKings have largely been the two biggest books as they are in most, and there’s a good chance that it will stay that way going forward.

Ohio had a slow summer due to the dearth in sporting events over that time period. Still, sportsbooks have recorded some sizeable profits in the Buckeye State since the start of the year, and there is a real feeling that football season will push revenue marks over the projections. Ohio State is one of the most popular teams in the country in college football, and Cleveland and Cincinnati could both challenge in the AFC North.

The two most recent states to legalize sports betting are Kentucky and North Carolina. It took the home of the Kentucky Derby and over a dozen racetracks more than five years to allow sports betting, but the state legislature finally passed HB 551 in March 31, and Governor Andy Beshear signed regulations into place on the industry just after the Fourth of July holiday.

Kentucky has decided to go full steam ahead in order to not miss out on the most lucrative time of the year. The lion’s share of sports betting happens during football season, so Kentucky decided to make September 7 the “live” date for legal sports betting. Several sportsbooks are already offering “pre-live” bonuses in order to get new users to sign up on their app, and that will give people who live in Kentucky plenty of options going forward.

Unfortunately, fans of the Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals will not be able to bet on their teams’ first game of the season. Both Kentucky and Louisville will kick off their 2023 college football campaigns after Labor Day, so the process isn’t without its difficulties.

Meanwhile, North Carolina officially legalized sports betting on June 14 when Governor Roy Coper signed HB347 into law. Anywhere from eight to 12 sportsbooks will launch in the Tar Heel State, but North Carolina is taking more time to set up the sports betting apparatus. The state will miss nearly the entire football season as the current “go live” date for North Carolina sports betting is January 8, 2024. However, this is one of the few states where football isn’t king as basketball has always ruled the roost, and all the kinks should be worked out ahead of March Madness.

If you wanted to bet on sports in North Carolina before HB347, you had to go to one of three casinos on tribal land. That was a problem for people in the more populated Eastern part of the state as the two largest casinos were in the mountains out past Asheville. Thankfully, soon you will be able to just use your phone in order to have all kinds of sports betting at your convenience.

Additionally, there will be in-person sports betting allowed at Bank of America Stadium and the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Quail Hollow Golf Club, WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, PNC Arena in Raleigh, and both North Wilkesboro Speedway and Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro. That will make it very easy to place a bet in North Carolina unless you live on the coast.