Historically, online gaming was considered to be a mostly free, skill-based activity, whereas gambling was largely based on chance and players had to pay money to make money. Now the lines between these two activities are becoming blurred for various reasons. Technological advances like the rise in the use of mobile devices and online streaming of games have played a large role.
People can now play games online that used to be associated with gambling in physical casinos, such as poker, roulette etc. They can also now legally place bets online on sports such as football and baseball.
A Supreme Court decision
In 2018, the Supreme Court decided to do away with a law passed back in 1992 that prevented states outside of Nevada from authorizing sports betting. With the axing of the Professional and Sports Protection Act, many key states legalized sports betting in 2021 and at least five more are likely to do so in early 2022.
Sports betting became legal in Michigan in December 2019, and regulators spent 2020 devising rules and ways to monitor and license new platforms. In 2021, Michigan became the 13th state to have live, legal, online sports betting. Currently, the state offers 14 regulated online casinos, and Play Gun Lake is the newest iGaming operator to offer online gambling in Michigan.
Technological advances
Technological advances that contributed to the rise of iGaming have also slowly eroded the differences between online gaming and gambling. Today, over 80% of sports betting revenue in the U.S. comes from betting on mobile devices. This is a long way from the days when mobile devices didn’t exist and gambling only took place in physical casinos.
Sports betting
Sports betting means Americans have the opportunity to bet on games they’re familiar with and played or watched while growing up, such as football, basketball, and baseball. There are many other games to bet on, too, and those who enjoy watching and playing golf, hockey and other games can also place bets online. One advantage of betting on golf is bettors can put in more research with ample time between rounds. Many leading sports brands are now considering licensing with sports betting companies.
The growth of eSports
The growth of eSports is being driven by live streaming through many different platforms such as Twitch, Caffeine, and Steam TV. The experience is much like watching any professional sporting event but it attracts a young demographic that are excited to watch gamers playing video games professionally and competitively online. The eSport players make money in many different ways. With many of those who have grown up on iGaming now at the legal age to bet on sports, this could also lead to more cross-pollination between gaming and gambling.
