Academic Paper Shines Light On America's Sports Betting Failures

Academic paper on the state of legalized sports betting in America explains how we got here and where the failures in the system lie. John Holden, Marc Edelman and Keith Miller are the authors. They argue that the major sports leagues get special treatment from state legislatures. The paper will be published in an upcoming edition of the Cardozo Law Review. The NFL has a 7% stake in Genius Sports, the company that provided data to sportsbooks. New York and Illinois have granted the U.S. professional sports league more rights over sports game data. It's a trend that is headed in that direction.

Holden questions the purpose of legalized sports betting in America. He points to New York and New Jersey as examples of the different goals of different states. New New Hampshire has a competitive market, but it's not great. He also points out that once you get out of top six, everyone is fighting for 1%. The market is very oligopolistic. Some companies control 80% of it. In New Zealand, the market has only 4% market share.

The need to ensure state gaming commissions remain independent. The commission often chooses staff with experience in sports and/or wagering. Some commission members have worked closely with one of the stakeholders in the legalization and regulation of sports gambling.

Problem gambling is another area where states with legalized sports wagering have room to improve.

Sports leagues need to improve their education programs for players and provide the necessary resources.

States should encourage competition in the data market to reduce latency associated with data transmission.

States should increase the number of sports wagering licenses awarded to avoid creating monopoly or oligopoly markets.