Around the world, we’ve begun to see a push toward cryptocurrency involvement in major sports. It’s been gradual, but at this point it’s undeniable too. The English Premier League football club Watford has put a bitcoin logo on its kits to bring attention to a bitcoin betting firm; Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain – one of the richest football teams in the world – stated last year it would launch its own cryptocurrency as a sort of fan token; and in Formula 1, Red Bull Aston Martin announced a crypto partnership as well. These developments are taking different shapes, from sponsorships, to betting opportunities, to original cryptos being developed. But by and large they represent the slow movement of cryptocurrency into sports spheres.
This is also happening in the United States, which may surprise some who are aware that the majority of betting activity is legally forbidden in much of the country. While the U.S. has long harbored a few gambling hubs (Las Vegas of course comes to mind), its citizens are not as accustomed to betting activity as people in many other parts of the world. Thanks at least in part to the Sacramento Kings organization of the NBA, however (which started getting involved with cryptos back in 2014), America is seeing some developments similar to those outlined above for football and Formula 1. And particularly on the betting front, there are a few reasons why this activity in the U.S. could represent a fairly significant addition to crypto markets.
Major Betting Events
While the U.S. is known to be home to several massive sports leagues, it’s also worth keeping in mind that those leagues specifically host what could become some of the biggest betting events in the world. You can find various lucrative figures concerning the amount of money that is already illegally wagered on the NFL’s Super Bowl every year, for instance, and we may soon find out if the annual craze over college basketball’s “March Madness” postseason has the betting potential many have long suspected it does. The state of New Jersey’s newly legal online sportsbooks are covering NCAA basketball, meaning next spring could provide a snapshot of how much could ultimately be wagered on this three-week event as well. And even beyond the Super Bowl and NCAA March Madness, occasions like The Masters golf tournament, the Daytona 500 racing competition, U.S. Open tennis, and professional baseball’s World Series would all see to have the pure betting potential to match or exceed most international sporting events.
Novelty
Even beyond the biggest betting events, the notion of cryptocurrency betting specifically in the U.S. sports market is exciting because it essentially pairs novel concepts, which – at least in theory – should represent an advantage cryptos don’t have everywhere else. Think of it this way: Where Premier League football is concerned, betting is established, whereas cryptocurrency is (relatively) new. People already know how and where to beet on football, and those who are interested likely have preferred ways of doing so, with crypto introducing a new concept within the market. In the U.S., however, to a majority of bettors in the next few years, everything will be new. Cryptocurrency won’t be a new addition to an established set of deposit and withdrawal options at betting sites, so much as it could be presented as just one of several options to start with.
Accessibility
Even given the above points, it may yet be a few years before too many more American states pass legislation formally legalizing betting. As was made clear in 2018, the United States’ new openness toward online sports betting originated with the lifting of a nationwide ban – not automatic legalization in each state. This could mean that even as the country broadly accepts betting (it’s already being discussed more openly as an aspect of sports media), millions of interested people will be unable to bet in their states. This in turn could lead them to seek acceptable options, which might include crypto-based betting. We’re note endorsing the idea, because it appears to be something of a legal grey area in the U.S. But some have suggested that legally outlawed betting only applies to what the U.S. considers “real money” – not cryptoc
urrency. So, in short, if a vast percentage of Americans gain interest in betting before they gain the ability to bet, they too could turn to international crypto options.
Altogether, these points suggest that a crypto betting market for U.S. sports specifically could be more than just a fun new addition to the world of digital currency. It could, in time, represent a lucrative industry poised to increase cryptocurrency usage and demand.
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