Sports Betting News in U.S. ... A Look Ahead to 2022

With no fewer than six states welcoming sports betting into their states, the sports betting industry has to consider 2021 to be a smashing success. Joining the fray were states like Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Dakota, and Washington DC.

With barely over 25 states now allowing its resident to legally bet on sports, there is clearly more work to be done in the sports betting community. While states like Texas and California look years away from passing sports betting legislation, there is still a lot on the horizon for 2022. Here is a look at what's to come for U.S. sports bettors in 2022.

Will Sports Betting Become a REality in Florida

In April of 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sign a new compact with the Seminole Indian Nation. The new compact gave the Tribe the exclusive rights to offer sports betting in Florida, something they started doing in November of 2021. By December, the new compact was nullified by a federal judge, and sports betting in Florida came to a grinding halt.

The battle for sports betting in Florida will continue in 2022. Both the Seminole Tribe and other Florida gambling interests are putting forth voting initiatives that would grant the right to offer sports betting to either the Tribe or regulated U.S. bookmakers. Hopefully, the issue will be resolved by the November election, and Florida sports bettors will know their fate.

Online/Mobile Sports Betting Goes Live in New York

Two years after saying yes to retail sports betting in upstate casinos, the New York state legislature and former Governor Andrew Cuomo finally reached an accord that would allow mobile operators to offer online betting services within New York.

With the deal done, the New York Gambling Commission was able to approve sports betting licenses for two groups of online/mobile operators. While operators will have to pay the state 51% of their gross sports betting revenue, they have been working feverishly to get operations underway by the start of the NFL playoffs in Mid January 2022.

At this point, everything seems on target. Short of a last-minute glitch, New Yorkers will be betting on the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl in 2022.

Ohio Preparing to Open Sports Betting Operations By 2023

It was a painful process in a conservative state. However, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine finally signed sports betting legislation into law right before Christmas. It was a great holiday gift for Ohioans who have been waiting a lifetime to bet on sports in their home state.

Now for the bad news. Sports betting most likely will not go live until January of 2023. The entire year of 2022 will be used to put the state's sports betting infrastructure in place. That will include the building of retail sportsbooks and the approval/allocation of sports betting licenses for retail/mobile operators in the U.S. By all estimates, Ohio sports bettors will be getting access to the best sports betting apps that the sports betting community has to offer.