A staggering 31.4 million people are expected to place bets on the Super Bowl. They won’t travel two hours to make that wager. Most of them will not place wagers worth $9.5 million.
Jim McIngvale, a mattress mogul is worth that much Place a betThe Super Bowl is on the Cincinnati Bengals. A win of $16.15 million will give McIngvale a profit if the Cincinnati Bengals are victorious. McIngvale began with $4.5 million bet with Caesars Sportsbook. It was said that it was the biggest ever placed using a mobile device. Caesars Sportsbook said that McIngvale placed another $5million bet with the Bengals. This beat out a $4.9million bet on St. Louis Rams (which they lost to a young, upstart quarterback called Tom Brady).
McIngvale was fortunate that he did not have to travel all the way from California to make the wager. This is because McIngvale didn’t need to drive to Las Vegas before the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The Supreme Court did not allow sports betting to be legalized nationwide. It simply stated that Congress could not prohibit states from legalizing them.
McIngvale had to travel two hours to Louisiana to get to McIngvale. Despite being a state that allows gambling as much as you like, Texans are not allowed to do so. Any sportsbooks and casino operators who try to enter Texas will be denied.
The legalization of sports betting via mobile devices in Louisiana has been completed within the last week. McIngvale could have hopped on a plane and driven to Las Vegas, but he would still have to register at the casino to make a mobile wager.
PlayUSA, a website that provides news and analyses on sports betting in the United States estimates that there are approximately 500,000 people. $1.25 billionLegally, wagers will be made on the Super Bowl. This is just a portion of the $7.6 BillionAccording to the American Gaming Association, both legal and illegal bets will be made. But different approaches could explain this huge difference. Only half the U.S. population resides in states that allow mobile sports betting from multiple providers.
Texas does not have sports betting legalized, however that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be possible for people to place wagers. While casual betting between friends is fine, serious bettors may also look for illegal bookies or make bets with offshore sportsbooks. McIngvale also suggests that they follow McIngvale’s example and travel to states with legalized betting.
Maybe Texas should let Texans just do what they want and allow online and in-person sportsbooks to start up.