More States Legalizing Mobile Sports Betting

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WSJ Your Money Briefing 5 min 2 speakers 2 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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J.R. Whelan 0:05
Here's your money briefing. I'm J.R. Whelan at The Wall Street Journal in New York. A year after a Supreme Court decision, some states are scoring big revenue with mobile sports betting. And with the start of the National Football League season upon us and bettors playing the odds, other states want in on the action. We'll check in with the journal's gambling reporter in a moment with some details. First, some money in market news you should know. A couple of recent studies highlight the gender gap as it pertains to financial literacy. UBS recently conducted a survey and found that only 23% of women around the world say they take charge of long-term financial planning decisions.

How did the Supreme Court decision open the way for state mobile sports betting?

J.R. Whelan 0:42
The survey also found that 56% of women aged 20 to 34 defer to their spouse for long-term financial planning, while 54% of women age 51 years of age or older do the same. But the UBS study has a troubling footnote. 74% of widows and divorcees discovered financial surprises, and not the good kind of surprises, when they finally took control of their finances. Past studies have shown that single women also have low levels of financial literacy. And it's not like women are still sitting on the outskirts of the financial spectrum. Women are earning more undergraduate and advanced degrees than men, plus they're carrying more student debt.
J.R. Whelan 1:28
The hottest bet these days is U.S. states raking in revenue on the back of mobile sports betting. And Wall Street Journal gambling reporter Catherine Sayre is on the line with us with some details. So, Catherine, for years, Nevada was the leader in mobile sports betting, but New Jersey is running neck and neck, and New Jersey just began sports betting last year.
Catherine Sayre 1:48
That's correct. So for decades, really, Nevada was the only state with a thriving sports betting market until the Supreme Court ruling last year essentially opened the way for other states to establish their own sports betting systems. And 12 states now have some sort of active sports betting market. New Jersey fought really hard for that court decision. They were one of the first to launch sports betting after that decision. They've been really aggressive, embracing mobile betting. So it's really paid off for them. And like you said, now they are neck and neck with Nevada.
J.R. Whelan 2:23
And for states like Nevada and New Jersey, this can be really good news for the casinos located in those states.
Catherine Sayre 2:29
Historically, casinos might have seen mobile betting as a threat, decreasing foot traffic into casinos. But that's sort of an old way of thinking at this point. And casinos are really embracing mobile betting. They're partnering with digital companies that we know like FanDuel, DraftKings, other smaller, lesser known mobile betting companies are moving into the market as well.
J.R. Whelan 2:53
You know, you mentioned FanDuel and DraftKings. Anybody who watches the National Football League sees those commercials on throughout the afternoon. And they are perhaps the highest profile players in the online sports betting market. But mobile sports betting, it's been around for a while, but sort of through unofficial apps and maybe even some offshore websites that have sort of existed below the radar.
Catherine Sayre 3:15
Yeah, and that was one of the arguments for allowing states to set up sports betting is the American Gaming Association. They estimate the sort of illegal gray market sports betting industry is $150 billion wagered every year. So like you said, these are offshore sites and states aren't able to tax that revenue.
J.R. Whelan 3:39
You mentioned a couple of interesting scenarios in your story, like Arkansas and Mississippi, which have restricted sports betting to just inside casinos. But Mississippi will allow mobile users to use their smartphones to bet inside the casinos.
Catherine Sayre 3:54
Yeah, and that's a nod to mobile betting, but I don't think it will have any real impact on revenue when you limit mobile betting to being inside the casino. I think in-person betting is a bit more palatable for some lawmakers in a state where you already have casinos or you already have racetracks, gambling's already happening there.

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