It’s one thing to bet on who you think might win a big sporting event like the World Cup. It’s another thing to bet on which players will score goals…and to do it legally…and in the U.S.!
Yet, that’s exactly what happened this past Sunday as France met Croatia in the World Cup final. According to a story on nj.com, Monmouth Park was filled to capacity by the time the match was set to start at 11 a.m. ET. More than 500 people were crammed into the sports bar and sports betting area. Beyond betting on the outcome of the game, there are now so-called proposition bets on things like whether the game would be won in regulation or overtime, how many corner kicks there would be, who would score the goals and more.
This is the very early stages of a $1 trillion opportunity just created by the Supreme Court.
Yes, you read that right. One trillion dollars!
The doors were flung open on May 14, 2018, when New Jersey and other gambling supporting states got what they long wanted. The Supreme Court ruled by a 6-to-3 margin to eliminate a 1992 federal law – the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act – that prohibited nearly every state from allowing sports betting. The decision is now up to each state.
Prior to this landmark decision, the only way to place a legal wager on a sporting event was to fly out to Las Vegas with your buddies for a weekend. The only state that allowed true legal sports gambling was Nevada, where a total of $4.87 billion was wagered. But here’s the key point: That number pales in comparison to the estimated $150 billion that was bet through illegal bookies around the country.
Let me cover those numbers again. They’re critically important. A total of $4.87 billion bet legally in Las Vegas in 2017. An estimated $150 billion bet illegally across the country in 2017 – so about 30 times more.
If you can grasp the significance of those numbers, you’re well on your way to making a fortune in the Great American Sports Betting Boom.
Delaware was the first state to jump on board when Governor John Carney walked into the Dover Downs casino on June 5 and bet $10 that the Philadelphia Phillies would beat the Chicago Cubs. He won his bet. Within another 20 days, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Mississippi, West Virginia and Pennsylvania had also approved some level of sports gambling.
More states are lining up, especially with the start of the NFL season now less than two months away – and preseason starts in a couple of weeks! In just the last few days, FanDuel opened a betting store at the Meadowlands Racetrack, which is within walking distance of MetLife Stadium where both the Giants and Jets play their home games.
The reason all of these states want in on the action is simple: money. The potential tax revenue is too big and too important to ignore.
So are the potential returns for investors, so the time to invest is now.
Multiple Opportunities
Everything points to a strong boom in sports gambling following the monumental decision by the Supreme Court. There are multiple ways to profit that are smarter and safer than trying to build your fortune by joining the actual betting. That’s where I rely on my extensive research to find the winners.
There are a number of players that can succeed and take a big piece of the growing sports gambling pie. The most obvious would be the casinos that can easily add a sportsbook and attract gamblers who are already on their properties. Plus, technology is needed to power the gambling experience on land and on mobile. Then there are the bookmakers that have been around for years overseas, and finally we have the leagues and the teams themselves.
As you probably know, France won the World Cup, and I have no doubt there was plenty of celebrating in Europe because of continental pride but also because an awful lot of people placed bets. Sports betting has been hugely popular there for a long time.
In fact, one company I just recommended to my readers has storefronts in England that are far more numerous than Starbucks. It is one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies, and with a strong foothold in Europe already, the company is already moving into the United States. It also has the lead in sports betting via mobile apps, which is where the majority of bets will be placed in the future.
I just recommended this stock in my Investment Opportunities service, and I see it doubling over time as sports gambling spread here in the U.S. I like it a lot at current prices. (Find out how to get my full analysis here.)
One More Bet?
I’ll share one more fun fact with you about the World Cup and making money…this time in the stock market.
Take a look at the chart below, which shows the performance of the stock market in World Cup years. You can see that when a European team wins, the S&P 500 tends to have a good year (average return of 8.6%).
I wouldn’t race out to your nearest betting parlor to wager on the market based on who wins the World Cup. There’s no way to know that. However, we do know that sports betting can now be made legal in any state that wants it. States are already jumping on the bandwagon, and a huge opportunity is now available to us as a result.
