I was watching a movie the other night, and some of the story revolved around bookies in New York City and some gamblers who got into trouble. It was interesting in the context of modern times. In most states, sports betting is legal now. We can easily do it on our apps. We have sports betting lounges attached to sports arenas and stadiums. So much has changed.

The Supreme Court changed everything

The popularity of sports betting keeps growing for many reasons. The latest boom started with the Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court decision in May 2018. Prior to this ruling, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 had largely outlawed sports gambling throughout the country, with the exception of a few states like Nevada.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy found that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment’s anti-commandeering principle, which prevents the federal government from forcing states to enforce federal laws. As a result, states were now able to legalize and regulate sports betting within their own borders.

Sports gambling keeps getting more popular

We’ve always loved betting on sports, particularly NFL football and college football. But now it’s even more popular. Several factors have contributed to the increased popularity of sports betting in the United States since the Murphy decision:

State legalization

In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, many states have chosen to legalize sports betting, allowing for a more accessible and regulated environment. This has led to a surge in the number of people who can participate in sports gambling legally.

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The San Diego Chargers held a 27-0 lead late in the first half of their Wild Card Round game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Everyone thought the game was over. Of course we all know now what happened . . .

A series of errors, bad calls, fluke plays and dumb decisions led to an epic comeback by the Jaguars.

But at 27-0, nobody really thought that was possible. So one high roller placed a money line bet for the Chargers to win the game, laying down $1.4 million!!, just to win $11,200!!

In many ways this was easy money, and high rollers do this all the time. But sometimes you can get crushed.

Darren Rovell tweeted out the details of this epic bad beat:

And you thought you had a rough day?

2021 was a year of huge expansion in legalized sports betting across the United States. The legal sports gambling market doubled in 2021 with more than $52.7 billion was wagered throughout the year.

Young people are diving in and giving sports betting a try, and the continued popularity of NFL football and college football is certainly helping to drive interest.

We can expect continued growth in 2022 as states like Ohio will be joining the fun, while New York will continue to grow as well with casinos a possibility inside New York City.

High rollers and casual gamblers will now have many more ways to play, and everyone will need to think about what they really want to get out of this. Are you really putting the work in to win these bets, or are you just enjoying the high roller lifestyle when traveling to places Like Las Vegas? Be honest with yourself as you navigate these new opportunities.

As more and more states rush to get in on legalizing all forms of gambling, we continue to see success stories as state start to see the cash roll in. Detroit has had casinos for years, but Michigan expanded legalized gambling and added sports gambling to the mix, and the results have been very positive:

Internet casinos, poker and sports betting in Michigan generated $1.4 billion in revenue in 2021, the first year online gambling was operational in the state.

Internet casino gaming generated $1.1 billion in revenue while internet sports betting produced $292.2 million, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Meanwhile, bettors wagered $3.7 billion at online sportsbooks last year.

Michigan became the third state in U.S. history to generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue from online casino games and poker, and the first to do so in its first year.

At some point states will start to cannibalize each other’s revenues, but with sports gambling most players are state residents. So each state is just adding to the overall pool of players. Let’s see how this trend plays out . . . Ohio will be joining the party in 2022!

Clemson was favored by 9.5 points and was up only 4 with seconds left while Florida State had the ball. So the Florida State betters were feeling pretty good. But on their last, desperation play, while trying trying laterals to get a touchdown, they fumbled and Clemson scooped it up for a touchdown. An epic bad beat . . .