Image: Screen capture of Bryson Dechambeau in the US Open, Mamaroneck, New York. Flickr user Dave Morton, Creative Commons
It has been over two years since the Supreme Court authorized states to legalize sports gambling in the landmark decision of NCAA v. Murphy. In the case, the Court declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (or PASPA) an unconstitutional exercise of Congressional power under the anti-commandeering doctrine. The legislation previously made sports gambling illegal in the United States, absent a few narrow circumstances.
Sports gambling has never been without controversy. Those in opposition highlight the heightened addictiveness of the activity, particularly for young sports fans, and the need to protect the integrity of sports from corruption. On the other side, proponents of legalization call attention to new state revenue streams, weakening of underground sportsbooks, and a new channel for heightened fan engagement.
Since the Supreme Court decision, twenty states have already legalized sports betting, and six others await implementation, having passed authorizing legislation. In the legal states, aspirations of added revenue streams have proven to be true. Just ask New Jersey and Pennsylvania, who have seen respective revenue of over $87 million and $73 million in their state since legalization.
Legalizing sports betting has proven to be incredibly popular as well. As of May 2020, there had already been $20 Billion in bets placed. The industry netted $900 million in revenue in 2019, and experts predict this number will reach between $7 billion to $8 billion by 2025.
Many sportsbook operators have quickly jumped into the ring, hoping to seize on the economic opportunity. Though two sportsbooks, DraftKings and FanDuel, hold a significant power in the market, many more private entities are beginning to enter the industry. New Jersey alone has fifteen different operating sportsbooks, all competing for a piece of the market. The sportsbooks have begun offering high probability, high pay-out betting promotions with the aims of sacrificing short term losses in exchange for attracting new, long-term customers. In addition to emerging sportsbooks, entities that provide gambling data and gambling news have become hot commodities as the industry continues to move forward
Not only is it yielded to be highly profitable for the public and private sector alike, it has added an extra layer of fan engagement. For example, 75% of NFL bettors say they are more likely to watch a game they have bet on, 51% say they are more likely to watch pre-game shows and commentary if they have bet on a game, and 63% say they are more likely to gather with friends or family to watch a game if they have bet on it.
It is undeniable that legalized betting has taken the sports world by storm since the Supreme Court decision. As the industry grows and betting becomes more entrenched into sports fandom, sports leagues and players are beginning to embrace it.
Enter professional golfer, Bryson Dechambeau.
There was already plenty of talk surrounding DeChambeau heading into the 2020 Masters Tournament. Known for his unconventional, science-minded approach to the game of golf, the Texas native has dominated the PGA in driving distance in 2020 and has claimed two season victories, including a commanding performance at the US Open this past September. In the buildup to Augusta, Dechambeau was picked by many to be the next to put on the heralded Green Jacket.
Dechambeau made headlines during Masters week beyond his golf game however, by announcing an exclusive, multi-year sponsorship with DraftKings, one of the major leading daily fantasy and sports betting companies. The partnership marked DraftKings first endorsement of a professional athlete. As part of the sponsorship, Dechambeau became the first golfer to dawn the logo of a sportsbook on his hat while playing Augusta.
Dechambeau and DraftKings officials lauded the partnership as a culmination of the popularity of golf amongst sportsbooks, and how betting brings a heightened level of fan engagement to the sport. Both of which, are undeniably true. The company says its golf betting handle has grown ten-fold over the course of the last year and golf ranks the fourth most popular sport in DraftKings’ daily fantasy contest.
The deal makes sense for both parties. For Dechambeau, a golfer who has embraced untraditional measures as a means to improve his game amidst a sport rooted in tradition, sports gambling is a way to reach new fans and make for a new viewing experience. For DraftKings, advertising and promotional opportunities with a young, popular, and highly debated player is a new way to gain a leg up in an industry where more and more parties are wanting a seat at the table.
If PAPSA was the bottle keeping sports gambling from the mainstream, the Supreme Court decision of NCAA v. Murphy undoubtedly popped the the lid. And since the case was decided, the business of sports betting has bolted to the forefront of the sports industry. The Dechambeau-DraftKings partnership marks new territory, as a major player is now fully teamed up with a sportsbook, embracing gambling as a way to popularize the sport and make it more fun to watch.
It is getting harder and harder for leagues and athletes alike to ignore the charging momentum of the sports betting industry. As the Dechambeau-DraftKings partnership indicates, increasing numbers of sponsorships, promotions, and content that embrace gambling as a central component of the sports world is something to bet on moving forward.
Jeff Clarke, Staff Editor
Image: Screen capture of Bryson Dechambeau in the US Open, Mamaroneck, New York. Flickr user Dave Morton, Creative Commons
References
Murphy v. NCAA, 138 S. Ct. 1461 (2018).
Ryan Rodenberg, United States of sports betting: An updated map of where every state stands, ESPN (Nov. 3, 2020),https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/19740480/the-united-states-sports-betting-where-all-50-states-stand-legalization.
David Purdum, Sports betting’s growth in U.S. ‘extraordinary’, ESPN (May 14, 2020), https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/29174799/sports-betting-growth-us-extraordinary.
Kristi Dosh, As the Sports-Betting Industry Transforms, Entrepreneurs May Find It Hard to Get in on Gambling Profits — but Related Businesses Will Thrive, Entrepreneur (May 21, 2018), https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313685.
Brett Haensel, Free money, big addictions: Inside the booming world of online sports betting, Fortune (Nov. 15, 2020, 8:00 AM), https://fortune.com/2020/11/15/online-sports-betting-addictions-gambling-nfl-football-soccer-basketball-hockey/.
Americans’ 2019 NFL Betting Plans, American Gaming Association (Sep. 4, 2019)
Bryson Dechambeau, PGA Tour (last visited Dec. 3, 2020) https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.47959.bryson-dechambeau.html.
David Purdum, Bryson Dechambeau to sport DraftKings logo at Masters, ESPN (Nov. 2, 2020), https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/30244719/bryson-dechambeau-sport-draftkings-logo-masters.
Stephen Hennessey, The 11 most unusual things about Bryson Dechambeau, GolfWorld (Sep. 20, 2020), https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-11-most-unusual-things-about-bryson-dechambeau.
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