Super Bowl LVI was a success for operators in the United States’ nascent sports betting market, there can be no doubt of that. However, Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO, has suggested that there is a way to go before the US market is free of illegal betting.
Indeed, despite record-breaking numbers at almost every regulated sportsbook across the country, and a number of states smashing previous records, the US still has an illegal betting problem.
Robins has suggested that over 30 million people placed illegal bets on the Big Game, mostly in states without legal and regulated sports betting. This number may not come as a surprise to many, as the three most populous states in the country lack completely regulated online sports betting platforms.
Although, all is not lost according to Robins, he said that this large number of illegal bets is “a great opportunity to keep expanding sports betting into more states and keep getting more people over from the illegal market.”
The CEO went on to highlight that the Super Bowl is a key period for sportsbooks in regard to customer acquisition.
He added: “So I think that's why you're seeing such aggressive activity on the customer acquisition side. There's just a flood of new customers coming into the legally regulated industry right now.”
The prevalence of illegal betting is currently on the mind of many in the sports betting industry. The American Gaming Association highlighted it in its recent 2022 preview.
The lobbying group argued that in order to defeat illegal sportsbooks, the government must implement more regulation, better enforcement and a bigger market for legal sports betting.
