When Will Esports Betting Become Popular in the US

Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned in 2018, dozens of states have made sports betting legal in some form. With https://www.usalegalbetting.com/, it’s easy to learn where it’s legal and what sportsbooks are the best fit for you. Of course, while betting on traditional sports has become immensely popular in a short time, the lingering question is when betting on esports will see a similar rise in popularity.

There is no question that esports is a fast-growing market in the US. Predictably, the industry received a huge boost in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced traditional sports leagues to shut down while esports were able to continue. But that growth has continued even with the world starting to return to normalcy. In fact, the esports market is expected to have more than 41 million users in the US by 2027. However, it could still take a little bit of time before betting on esports is done on the same level as traditional sports betting.

The crux of the problem is accessibility. More than half of the 50 states allow legal sports betting with most of them allowing both online and retail betting. Also, in several of the states where sports betting is not yet legal, state legislatures are making a push to make it legal. On the contrary, the states of New Jersey, Nevada, Tennessee, and West Virginia are the only states where betting on esports is legal.

The regulations for sports betting and esports betting are different, meaning they are two separate entities despite their similarities. This means that states have to legalize them separately. Compared to traditional sports betting, legalizing esports betting doesn’t seem to be a priority for most states. Even with the popularity of esports continuing to grow, there still isn’t a strong effort from states to make betting on it legal, meaning esports bettors are still limited to just four states.

The good news is that several prominent sportsbooks have already started preparing for the day when esports betting is more widely available. The likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, and other well-known sportsbooks have made esports betting available to those betting in New Jersey, Nevada, Tennessee, and West Virginia. This is a sign that sportsbooks are willing to make esports betting a part of their offering to customers and will be ready when more states begin to legalize esports betting.

Even though only four states have fully legalized esports betting, several offer regulated esports betting, including Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. In these states, there are some esports betting options available but services are limited. But even with limited options, more esports fans are discovering the betting element of gaming.

Slowly but surely, esports betting will continue to make inroads. Given the popularity of esports and the success of traditional sports betting in dozens of states, it could only be a matter of time before esports betting becomes more accessible in the US. Just as we’ve seen with sports betting, when esports betting becomes legal in more places, it’s bound to grow in popularity.