Editor's note: In America, hard work and brains count for a lot.
But if you really want to stack the odds in your favor – and make a lot of money quickly – it makes sense to get out in front of huge new laws... and ride the waves of money they create.
When the government legalizes an activity that has been banned for years, it typically creates extraordinary opportunities.
In this weekend's Masters Series, our friend Matt McCall explains how investors have one such opportunity...
Trump's Supreme Court Just Created a Huge New Investment Opportunity
On Tuesday, June 5, 2018, John Carney walked into the Dover Downs casino and made U.S. history.
The Delaware governor bet $10 on the Philadelphia Phillies beating the Chicago Cubs.
It was the country's first legal sports bet outside the state of Nevada.
After Carney placed his bet, all three of Delaware's casinos – Dover Downs, Harrington Raceway, and the Casino at Delaware Park – were open to take bets on sports like baseball, football, basketball, and hockey.
It was a historic day that Delaware and other states had wanted to see for a long time. And for reasons I'll lay out below, it kicked off an era filled with incredible investment opportunities.
Back in 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act ("PASPA") became federal law. It banned sports betting except in Nevada.
Supporters said the ban protected the integrity of sports. Nearly 20 years later, New Jersey citizens voted by a wide margin to amend their state's constitution to allow sports betting. Governor Chris Christie signed the law in 2012, but it was overturned. The state passed another law two years later and it was also shot down, but the appeals process continued and the Supreme Court agreed last summer to hear the case.
In the meantime, Pennsylvania also legalized sports betting, but was still figuring out how to make it happen. Other states, like West Virginia and Mississippi, were falling in line as well, and were preparing for the day when they could do the same.
On May 14, New Jersey and other gambling-supporting states got what they wanted.
That's when the Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 margin to eliminate the 1992 federal law prohibiting nearly every state from allowing sports betting. The decision is now up to each individual state.
Prior to this landmark decision, the only way for most Americans to place a legal wager on a sporting event was to fly out to Las Vegas with your buddies for a weekend.
In 2017, the only state that allowed true legal sports gambling was Nevada, where $4.9 billion was wagered. That number pales in comparison to the estimated $150 billion that was bet through illegal bookies around the country.
Let me cover those numbers again – they're critically important.
A total of $4.9 billion was bet legally in Nevada in 2017. An estimated $150 billion was bet illegally across the country that same year – about 30 times more.
If you can grasp the significance of those numbers, you're well on your way to making a fortune in the Great American Sports Betting Boom.
In this weekend's Masters Series, I'll show you just how big and profitable this boom could be. I'll show you a huge part of this story most people are missing... and I'll explain how you can capture the biggest, safest profits from what's about to happen.
Expanding to Other States
Since Delaware opened its doors to sports gambling, other states have moved to capitalize on the opportunity – especially before the NFL season started last month.
As of June 25, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania had approved some level of sports gambling, joining Nevada and Delaware.
Next up in the immediate future are New York, Kentucky, Connecticut, and Iowa. But it's only a matter of time until most states offer some level of sports gambling. Research firm Height Capital Markets has estimated the number will grow to 17 as soon as next year.
The reason all these states want to be on board is simple: money.
The potential tax revenue is too big and too important to ignore. Think about it... If Nebraska decides it won't offer sports gambling but the surrounding states do, Nebraska will stand to lose millions in tax dollars.
According to the American Sports Betting Coalition, states stand to generate between $4.8 billion and $5.3 billion annually through sports gambling-related taxes.
This isn't a huge number considering the massive budgets for most states, but it's more than enough incentive to push for legalization in most cases.
The Numbers Tell the Story
It's difficult to know for sure how much money is illegally wagered on sports in the United States each year.
As I mentioned, the estimate comes in around $150 billion. And remember, with only $4.9 billion wagered legally in Nevada in 2017, that means approximately 97% of all sports gambling is through illegal channels.
In fact, the American Gaming Association estimates $4.6 billion was bet on the Super Bowl this year, with that same 97% coming through the black market.
There is no doubt that a large percentage of those illegal bets will soon move over to legal channels. The questions are how quickly that will occur and what the revenue numbers will be.
Let's stay with Nevada as our case study. In 2017, it generated gross revenue of $249 million through legal sports gambling channels. That means the state made 5.1% of the total amount wagered.
Now, let's apply that same 5.1% to the $150 billion in illegal bets.
The result? $7.7 billion in gross revenue – or an incredible 31 times what was generated in Nevada last year.
Lest you think I'm looking at this through rose-colored glasses, let me share others' views on the topic. Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a boutique research firm specializing in the gaming and technology sector, sees annual gaming revenue of $6 billion in the U.S. by 2023. That's based on 32 states legalizing sports gambling.
The firm's research report goes on to say that if all 50 states legalize sports gambling, annual revenue could reach $15.8 billion on a total of $245 billion wagered in just five years.
To put that number into perspective, commercial casino gambling generated about $40 billion in revenue in 2016 (not including Native American properties).
Let's look at the most exciting number of all. If revenue climbs from $249 million in 2017 to $15.8 billion in 2022, we're talking about a 63-bagger.
That kind of growth opportunity is rare, especially outside of world-changing technology. Yes, the sports gambling industry will experience technological breakthroughs, but in general, this is a fairly straightforward trend – just one more reason we would be foolish to ignore it.
Demographics
I always look at exactly "who" is behind a trend, as that is one of the key factors in determining both longevity and overall investing potential.
For example, if a trend relies on Baby Boomers, it could flourish in the shorter term, since they have large chunks of cash at the moment.
However, those folks will undoubtedly cut back on spending in the coming years as they approach and get further into retirement.
The exact opposite is true of sports gambling.
The numbers tell us this is a young man's game. A poll of prospective sports bettors (pending legalization in their states) found that 69% were men and 38% were between the ages of 18 and 34.
In short, millennial males are the driving demographic for sports gambling.
That's not a big surprise, but it's definitely a positive. As millennials start to earn more money in the decade ahead, they will have more disposable income. Plus, millennials are all about experience versus "things," and betting on sports definitely qualifies.
I'm not a millennial, but I think all of us sports fans agree on how fun it is to attend games and root for our favorite teams.
With the introduction of in-game gambling, the experience gets taken to yet another level, so let's look at that.
In-Game Gambling: The Big Story Most People Are Missing
Imagine sitting down in your seat to watch your favorite baseball team.
You have a cold beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other. You have a feeling the next batter will hit a home run, so in addition to proclaiming your prediction to your fellow fans, you set aside your beer, grab your phone, and open an app to place a $10 bet that will pay off big if the batter hits a home run.
Or how about sitting courtside at the NBA Finals as the Philadelphia 76ers are poised to win the championship... But instead of betting on the outcome of the whole game, you place a wager on your phone that star Joel Embiid will make his next free throw. Swish. The $50 bet just paid for your food and drinks for the evening.
Whether this sounds like a dream (if you're a sports fan like me) or no big deal (if you're not a sports fan), it is a big deal for all of us as investors.
This opportunity to place bets even as a sporting event is being played could be a reality in a few short years. In-game gambling, also referred to as "in-play betting," will enhance the experience of attending or watching sporting events and lead to a ridiculous boom for gambling platforms.
The Las Vegas Lights of the United Soccer League became the first team to sign a sponsorship deal with a bookmaker when it made U.K.-based William Hill its official sports betting partner in June.
William Hill will promote its online gambling platform at Lights games to allow attendees to place bets throughout the games.
Not only will the experience forever be altered at the actual sporting events, but William Hill already has plans to offer in-game gambling at its sportsbooks.
The Ocean Resort Casino is expected to open its doors this summer in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with William Hill running the 7,500-square-foot sportsbook.
Along with traditional sports betting options, gamblers will also be able to place in-game bets as they watch the games on the big screens.
The Leagues
There are no more important players in this trend than the professional sports leagues and teams that are being wagered on. Believe it or not, they are also among the most often overlooked.
Without the leagues and the teams, it will be impossible to place a wager, so they want in on the action. It remains to be seen how this will eventually play out, but I am sure money will be thrown their way.
There is also indirect upside potential. When a consumer has skin in the game, you know he is going to watch more of it. An overwhelming 92% of current sports gamblers say they are more likely to watch a game when they have a bet on it. Of course they are... Wouldn't you be?
Well, the more eyes there are on a game, the more money a league can bring in from advertisers. And as I already highlighted, male millennials will be the majority of the audience. This is a coveted demographic that advertisers spend big bucks to get in front of.
It's a safe bet that the leagues will figure out how to profit. The owners are some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in the country. They didn't get that way by passing up chances at big money.
Exactly how this money will be paid is still to be decided, but we could see anything from fees to use the rights to a league or its athletes, to an "integrity" fee, to the leagues launching betting apps themselves.
Either way, the owners of professional sports teams and the heads of the major pro leagues stand to line their already-rich pockets.
Fantasy Sports
The potential for expansion of sports gambling into fantasy sports is another exciting factor in this trend.
The nearly 60 million fantasy sports players will have the opportunity to legally place wages on their games, or perhaps bet which player will end the day with more fantasy points. That's like giving candy to a child.
According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, fantasy players spent an average of $653 in 2017. That number could greatly increase with the addition of practically unlimited wagering opportunities. The $38.7 billion spent by fantasy sports players is only the start of what could easily turn into a $100 billion industry in the next decade.
Adding to that potential is the natural crossover from fantasy sports to wagering on sporting events. Surveys show that half of fantasy sports players also bet on sports. Fantasy sports were always legal, but the betting wasn't.
Now, a father of two in Mississippi can place a bet on his favorite college football team without fear of breaking the law.
I cannot stress how big this is for fantasy sports players around the country.
Tomorrow, I'll continue to make the case for investing in legal sports betting... specifically, by owning companies that employ one of the most powerful, most "capital efficient" business models on the planet.
Regards,
Matt McCall
Editor's note: Donald Trump's Supreme Court has created a "bonanza" in sports betting... And according to Barron's, it could be 18 times larger than the boom in legal marijuana. To learn more about this incredible opportunity – which could make early investors five to 10 times their money – watch Matt's presentation right here.