Should the Sports Betting Industry in the U.S. be Fully Legalized?

Should the Sports Betting Industry in the U.S. be fully legalized? Name Institution Should the Sports Betting Industry in the U.S. be fully legalized? The sports betting industry has been the subject of fierce public debate in the recent past following the overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 by the Supreme Court. This law, in the past, illegalized sports betting in all states, with an exemption of Nevada and three others (Humphreys, 2017). However, the country seems to be heading in a new direction and more people currently support the legalization of sports betting. According to Ramsey (2018), 55% of Americans are in support of legalization with only 35% opposing. Opponents of full legalization posit that betting on sports will have a negative impact on the integrity of the game, while supporters posit that sports betting already exist and illegal sports betting has been thriving, despite the existing law. However, sports betting should be fully legalized in the U.S. because of its economic benefits, in terms of revenue generation and job creation. The state and federal government generate revenue from taxing industries, companies and individuals. Evidence indicates that the sports betting industry is booming despite operating in the grey area of the law. The government can generate a lot of revenue by tapping into this industry. In Nevada, where sports betting have been legal for over two decades, approximately $4.9 billion dollars was spent by gamblers in 2017 (Minton, 2018). As such, the state of Nevada was able to generate revenues by taxing this industry. If sports betting became fully legal, gamblers in other states would also spend a substantial amount of money. In fact, Minton (2018) reveals that approximately $123 billion is spent in the U.S. in illegal sports gambling per year. This has a downside in terms of revenue generation because the government does not get to tax the companies and the sports betting industry in general, despite the fact that a lot of money goes into this industry. The kind of revenue that states can generate can go into further developing the country in terms of infrastructure and social services. In addition, Minton (2018) posits that fully legalizing sports betting will ensure that the revenues generated in this industry actually serve legitimate causes instead of ending up in the hands of criminals who not only use illegal sport betting to advance their personal interests but also exploit consumers who are not protected by the law. The legal limitations imposed on states by PASPA were discriminatory in a way because while some states had some privileges with regards to sports betting, a lot of states were left out. Thus, the industry continued to thrive, yet the states could not cash-in from it because of the illegal nature of sports betting in those states. As such, sports betting should be fully legalized in the U.S. to enhance revenue generation in all states and ultimately promote economic growth. Employment and financial independence is a key measure of a country’s state of the economy. As such, governments often focus on enhancing em...