Sports betting has come a long way and now, more and more people are getting into it. In the United States, the number of states that now allow this continues to rise. There is now a total of 20 states that have signed betting into law, but some of these states are still working on its launch.
The majority of these 20 states allow both in-person and online betting. The state of New York only has in-person betting while Tennessee will only allow sports betting.
Now, New York is a great example of why online betting is now the preferred way for people to place their bets. Like all the other states that legalized betting, New York was expecting to get great revenues from sports betting.
However, when this was launched in July, things didn’t appear to be as exciting. Not everyone seems to be willing to travel to the licensed casinos upstate so that they can place their bets. By the end of 2019, the state of New York only gained around 7 million US dollars of revenue. It only made 780,000 US dollars of revenue in the last month of 2019.
This is definitely far from what New Jersey is making in just one month. In December 2019 alone, New Jersey was able to collect a total of 557.8 million US dollars in bets with revenue of 29.4 million US dollars. What’s also known is that each month, 80 to 90 percent of the sports betting handle in New Jersey is from online betting.
Obviously, the majority of bettors in the US prefer wagering online and this is likely the same as the rest of the world. There are a few reasons why people prefer this and here are some of them:
Easy access
As long as you have internet, you can already place your bets with your laptop, PC, tablet, and even your smartphone. You can do this wherever you are. There is no need to travel just so you can place your bets.
If you’re planning on wagering on the upcoming IPL, you don’t even need to go to India. You just need to go to a cricket betting sites in India, create a profile, make a deposit, and place your bets.
Variety
There are just many online bookies out there that accept wagers on almost all sports out there. Whether you’re into football, basketball, cricket, rugby, or tennis, there are sites that get you covered. This means that you no longer have to frequent multiple online bookies to wager on different sports.
Another variety you can easily find when placing bets online is the variety of bets that you can choose from. Whether its per team, score basis, or season performance, there are just many types of bets out there that you can easily find.
Payment Options
Just like paying for online goods, making a deposit or withdrawing your winnings is now made easy. Credit or debit card payments are still the most commonly used ways to make a deposit, but for people who are hesitant about this, there are now other options too.
You can use digital wallets like Skrill or PayPal. This no longer requires you to input your banking information every time you make a transaction. Just your email address or wallet address is enough. The same goes for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Ripple. You no longer need to give out any of your banking information. Typically, transactions with cryptocurrencies are faster too as these are decentralized.
Promos and bonuses
Another reason why people choose to wager online is the chance of getting bonuses and participating in promos. Many online casinos and bookies are very generous with this and most of their offers are what land bookies don’t really have.
Typically, online bookies or casinos are generous with welcome bonuses as this is their way to entice customers and sign up with them. However, punters who are planning to wager on a regular basis are more likely to go after bookies with better VIP promos or offers for loyal customers.
Overall, convenience is really the main reason why people are starting to bet online more. It’s still unlikely that the land casino and bookies will go out of business at all, but with more people becoming more acquainted with their mobile devices or the internet, more people are just going to place their bets online. Going on the internet is also a generally cheaper option to gamble.