US Sports betting: Nation Evenly Split

A new poll commissioned recently shows that Americans are evenly split when it comes to the issue of legalizing and regulating US sports betting across the nation. The Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll found that US voters were split exactly 42 to 42% that citizens should be allowed to wager on professional sports, as well as sports at college level.

More interestingly, however, is the fact that this is a vast improvement from last year’s poll, where it was shown that over half those polled were opposed to the idea of legal sports betting. The March 2010 poll showed that 53% opposed sports betting, while 39% were in favor. This reflects the growing trend to see sports betting legalized at a federal level and in all states among US citizens.

The poll comes at a time when New Jersey is moving closer than ever to legalizing its sports betting industry. The state could see an approved sports betting law by January 2012, with the next objective being to head to the federal courts to try and overturn a ban. Voters indicated in a state referendum last month that they were in favor (at a 2:1 ratio) of legalized sports betting.

“Gambling has become, for good or ill, a national industry, and you can bet that politicians and casinos all over the country are closely following New Jersey’s plans,” said the director of the poll, Peter Woolley.

A journalist who now runs a gambling site said: “There is enormous pent-up demand for sports wagering. We write about it because even though we can’t do it on our region, it is part of the water-cooler conversation. Every time someone talks about what Atlantic City needs to save it, the talk turns to sports betting.