Over $4 Billion to be Wagered on Super Bowl 50 in USA

More than $4 billion will be placed on Super Bowl 50, the majority of which via illegal channels (Image: cultofmac.com).

America Gaming Association (AGA) expects United States residents to wager over $4 billion on the upcoming Super Bowl 50 match, but the problem is that the majority of those bets will be placed via illegal channels.

Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers will be vying for the coveted title on February 7 at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the 50th edition of the NFL showpiece likely to be the heavily bet event of the year.

However, chances are that huge profit from those wagers will go to illegal gambling operators, as 97 percent or some $4.1 billion will be staked with international sports betting operators, according to AGA.

The same thing happened last season when $3.8 billion in bets was placed at international sportsbooks on the Super Bowl clash between Seatlle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

Illegal Gambling Market Continues to Grow

The AGA believes that illegal gambling market is around 35 times larger than the legal sports betting market, with Las Vegas sportsbooks seeing the majority of wagers placed via allowed channels.

With sports betting still illegal in most USA states, it is clear that the profit from this huge market continues to end up in wrong hands, which is why gaming companies from all over the world hope that United States authorities will eventually decide to regulate online gambling for their residents.

The 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) banned sports betting in 46 states, but the controversial legal framework has produced virtually no results.

While mere $68.2 billion in wagers was placed legally in Nevada sportsbooks between 1984 and 2004, it is believed that the illegal gambling market is worth between $80bn and $300bn per year.

The American Gaming Association chiefs appear to be finally aware that the current gambling legislation needs to be changed and they have plans to amend the current sports betting law.

And considering that daily fantasy websites have also come under increased scrutiny of late for an alleged attempt to circumvent the nationwide ban on sports betting, it is clear that USA’s gambling laws are in need of a major overhaul.