Americans support the legalisation of sports betting
The poll shows that 48 percent of Americans support the legalisation of the gambling activity.
US.- According to a poll released by the Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind in New Jersey, almost half of Americans support turning sports betting into a legalised national industry.
Support has considerably grown since 2010, when just 39 percent of people supported a federal legalisation of sports betting, almost a 10 percent less than this year. More than 1000 people participated in the poll. Krista Jenkins, director of PublicMind, said: “With the World Series almost behind us, and the NFL and NBA seasons underway, Americans are doing a lot of betting. Many would enjoy the opportunity to wager in places other than office pools and among friends.”
There are currently only four states that offer a legal activity related to sports betting: Montana, Oregon, Nevada and Delaware, and New Jersey lawmakers are still working on pushing a legalisation. Donald Hoover, a senior lecturer at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, said that most of the sports betting in the U.S. is fairly easy to do but happens in the shadows and in violation of federal law.
The results of the poll also show that 60 percent of respondents that are in favor of changing the federal law are aged under 35, whilst 53 percent of the people who are opposed are between 60 and 65 years old.
