Page 12 - Delaware Lawyer - Winter 2023

FEATURE | A BUSY 5 YEARS
MARK CAMPBELL
Over time, the billions of dollars in tax revenue from sports betting will fund many projects deemed worthy by our elected representatives.
problem gambling clearly is the big- gest downside to the legalization of sports betting. On the other side of the cost/benefit analysis are the hun- dreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue generated, the thousands of jobs created, a lot of money being made by many businesses (law firms among them) and the increased en- joyment of sports by a tremendous number of people.
The Upsides to Sports Betting
States, of course, are taxing sports betting revenue. Tax rates range from 6.75% in Nevada to 51% in New York, with many generally in the 20% range. In addition to that, many states have imposed upfront licensing fees for sports betting operators as well — $25 million per operator in New York. The federal government gets its share as well, in the form of .025% of the amount wagered (25 cents on every $100 — not of rev- enue, but of the total amount of wa- gers made). Over time, the billions of dollars in tax revenue will fund many projects deemed worthy by our elect- ed representatives.
The tens of thousands of jobs be- ing created in the sports betting in- dustry are also an upside. The top operators — FanDuel, Draft Kings, MGM and Caesars — employ thou- sands of people. To that, add the smaller operators, the technol- ogy suppliers that provide every- thing from technology platforms and betting kiosks (like IGT) to geo-location services to ensure that bettors are located in the right state (like GeoComply). Data companies like Sportradar and Genius Sports play an important role in the ecosys- tem, transmitting information in real time about what’s happening in the game to sports betting companies so that operators can update their odds
significant gambling problem.1 This is not limited to the legal gambling industry, as an extensive black mar- ket has been around for generations, no doubt with unquantified harm. The author’s father fed his gambling problem, not only at places like the old Brandywine Raceway and Dela- ware Park, but at the illegal book- maker on 8th & Orange Street, the illegal card club at 5th & Market, and the illegal dice game at 8th & King in downtown Wilmington back in the 1970s and 1980s.
What is new now, with the over- turn of PASPA, is all of the advertis- ing, a lot of it on the most popular television shows in America — often prime-time NFL games. This has led to a significant increase in the num-
ber of gamblers and in calls to prob- lem gambling helplines.2 People with gambling problems will gamble more than they can afford, often going into debt and damaging their family relationships. Legal gambling opera- tors, often by virtue of state regula- tion (though many do it even if not required), include “responsible gam- ing” features such as the ability of the customer to limit deposits, losses or time on gambling apps within a specified period. But there’s no silver bullet for this problem, so the best that can be achieved through regula- tion and industry efforts is to mini- mize the impact. And there’s no hid- ing from the fact that sports betting causes real harm to real people.
The increase in and impact of
10 DELAWARE LAWYER WINTER 2023