Sportradar expects U.S. sports betting to expand next year

According to a Reuters news agency report Thursday, sports betting data provider Sportradar expects “at least” twelve more US states to legalise sports betting in the coming year, and up to eight could have operational sports books ready to take wagers before the start of the 2019 football season.

Company exec Jake Williams and other industry experts told a conference that in addition to the five states where legal sports wagering is up and running, another four to eight will “probably be accepting bets by the coming football season,”

In a post-conference interview Williams told Reuters that sports fans can now wager legally on sporting events in New Jersey, West Virginia and Mississippi, Nevada and Delaware. He said that Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are expected to roll out live betting soon, and one tribal casino in New Mexico has begun operating a sportsbook without the need for state legislation.

States that could close in on legislation or new regulations by the end of 2019 include Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Oregon.

Michigan lawmaker and chair of the Regulatory Reform Committee, Rep. Brandt Iden told the conference that he is optimistic about a mobile gambling bill in the state House which should soon pass after over a year of consideration, perhaps by the end of 2018, allowing the state to enter the regulated and licensed sports betting sector both online and retail next year.

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