Some investors in the UK, the land where people bet on everything from royal engagements to the latest football match, might be surprised to know that sports betting in the US has been largely banned since 1992 when then-president George Bush signed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The only exceptions were Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana.
PASPA has now been ruled by the US Supreme Court as “unconstitutional”. This means that it will be up to individual states, rather than the federal government, to decide whether they want to allow sports betting. Considering the taxes that state governments would probably slap on such gambling, it’s likely that many will consider approval.
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) wasted little time in announcing that it was in early-stage discussions over a potential merger of its US business with fantasy sports website FanDuel. It already owns a horseracing television channel and an online 'pari-mutuel' wagering operator where customers’ bets are pooled so that they aren’t betting against the house – that is active in more than 30 states. It also bought the fantasy sports website DRAFT and operates an online casino and horseracing exchange in New Jersey, the state that is expected to be the first to fully legalise sports betting. However, the latter two start-ups incurred £15m in losses last year.
William Hill (WMH) operates more than half of retail sports betting in Nevada. It also has deals with Caesers Entertainment and a racetrack in New Jersey, and already supplies a sports betting product to the Delaware Lottery. Meanwhile GVC (GVC) is licensed to supply gaming technology in New Jersey, and inherited a 79 per cent stake in Stadium Technology Group, a Nevada-based supplier of sports betting products, via its acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral.
