American Gaming Association predicts $36.5 billion will be wagered on Major League Baseball in 2017

The American Gaming Association continued its crusade for wider sports betting legalisation in the United States this week, issuing a statement that claims this year’s Major League Baseball competitions will trigger a $36.5 billion wagering spree – 97 percent of it illegal.

The season starts in a few days’ time, and the AGA claims that the vast majority of bets will go through illicit offshore websites and sports bookies, with no benefit to the sport or tax authorities.

Americans wager roughly $154 billion a year on sports illegally due to the 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which restricts betting to just four states.

“The amount wagered illegally on professional baseball is another sign the federal ban on sports betting has become an utter failure,” said Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO in a press release Thursday.

“It’s time for Washington to stop depriving states of critical tax revenue and allow them to reap the rewards of a regulated market.”

In 2016, the AGA estimated that fans would illegally wager roughly $2.4 billion on MLB post-season games. That same year, only an estimated $85 million was placed legally on play-off games, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board data.

The AGA release claims that the growing illegal sports betting market, fuelled by the failing federal ban on sports betting, has rapidly pushed sports fans into an underground market with no consumer protections.

A regulated marketplace, which stands in stark contrast to what’s currently available, would generate tax revenue and jobs for local communities and provide needed consumer protections for fans, the trade association claims.