U.S. gambling billionaire anticipates that liberalised sports betting will be a significant new market

Predicting a significantly wider market in the event of a positive US Supreme Court ruling in the New Jersey challenge to the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (see previous reports) the prominent US businessman Tilman Fertitta spoke in favour of more widely available and properly regulated and licensed sports betting in the United States in a televised interview this week.

Pointing out that offshore operators without US licensing are currently dominating the local sports betting market and not paying taxes for the privilege, Fertitta said that there was a massive demand for sports betting in the States, and in that sort of situation government needed to consider this from the perspective of consumer protection, which at the same time could be a lucrative source of tax revenues.

Fertitta is the owner of the Houston Rockets, which he acquired in a $2.2 billion deal approved by the NBA in October. He also owns the Golden Nugget Casinos and Landry’s, a Texas-based restaurant and entertainment company.

See the interview here