Analyzing The Success Of Mobile Sports Betting Apps As Maryland Gets Close To Joining The Industry

In May 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), a bill that had barred sports gambling from taking place in most parts of the country.

Since the groundbreaking ruling, nearly 30 U.S. states have launched a form of legalized sports betting. And other states such as Maryland, California, and Ohio are seemingly getting close to joining the industry.

It was previously hoped and expected that Maryland would launch sports betting at some point in 2022, but 2023 may be a more realistic date now. If it launches, the top Maryland sports betting apps would include BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Unibet.

Through these apps, residents of Maryland would be able to place different types of wagers on local sports teams such as the NFL’s Ravens and MLB’s Orioles — including futures, parlays, and money lines.

For instance, Ravens fans can place bets on their team winning the AFC North and/or the Super Bowl. At DraftKings, they’re betting favorites to win the AFC North at +185. The Ravens’ Super Bowl odds at the sportsbook are + 2200.

Last week, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan sent a letter to the state’s Sports Wagering and Application Review Commission — further stressing his desire to launch mobile sports betting.

In the letter, Hogan claimed that an estimated 80 to 90 percent of sports bets would come through mobile devices. Hogan concluded the letter with: “I, along with many other Marylanders, will be watching your next meeting with great interest.”

New York & Illinois Are Shining Examples Of Success In Sports Betting Apps

If you want a short but sweet idea of how impactful sports betting apps are, look no further than the State of New York.

The Empire State only launched mobile/online sports betting in January of this year. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for state officials to see a massive surge in this industry.

By mid-April, New Yorkers had placed sports wagers totaling more than $5 billion, per Larry Henry of Gambling.com.

Henry noted at the time that the FanDuel sportsbook led the way in New York by taking in a whopping $1.96 billion in mobile sports wagers. DraftKings ($1.3 billion) and Caesars ($1.29 billion) also enjoyed ten-figures worth of bets up to that point.

The state of New York applies the tax revenue taken from mobile sports betting towards good causes, including youth sports, education programs, services for gambling addictions, and much more.

New York has a rich sports history, with three NFL teams (the Giants, Jets, and Buffalo Bills), three NHL teams (the Islanders, Rangers, and Buffalo Sabres), two NBA teams (the Knicks and Brooklyn Nets), and two MLB teams (the Mets and Yankees).

And with the 2022 NFL season right around the corner, New York state officials have good reason to believe that sports betting will only continue to grow in the final quarter of the year.

Sports betting was given the green light in the state of Illinois back in June 2019. Like New York, “The Prairie State” has been a top leader in the sports betting industry.

According to the Illinois Gaming Board reports (h/t Pat Evans of Legal Sports Report), the state’s sportsbooks garnered $839.4 million for the month of April. That’s especially impressive when you consider that the NFL and college football seasons have not commenced yet.

At the time, Evans noted that FanDuel led all Illinois sportsbooks by taking in $286.3 million in online sports wagers for the month of April, generating a whopping $33.1 million in revenue DraftKings also did very well by taking in over $200 million.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a $45 billion dollar “Rebuild Illinois” plan. This new plan was to open up more than 500,000 jobs with the goals of improving the state’s bridges, roads, universities and more. 15 percent of the tax revenue generated from mobile and online sports betting goes to the state’s Capital Projects Fund. Like New York, Illinois is a massive sports market with professional sports franchises in each of the four major North American leagues. With football season not far off, Illinois can expect a significant increase in sports betting.