7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Sports Betting

• Opportunity:
• All across the United States, there is sports betting happening legally along with betting illegally.  The only states where it is legal to gamble on sports is in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana.
• The Who: Americans that live in the United States in states where sports gambling is illegal.
• The What: They are unable to gamble in their states because of the state laws that are set.
• The Why: People are capable of making tons of money while gambling on sports.  When it is done illegally, there are no taxes being taken out which is considered a federal crime and makes it even more illegal than it already is.
• Testing the who: There are many Americans who have a need for this that live in states where it is not legal.  If the United States were to legalize sports betting in all states, they would be able to tax the winning bets.  With them being able to tax out the bets, the United States would be able to make loads of money.  The people have a need for this because they feel as if it is an easy way for them to make money on the side of what they are already doing.
• Testing the what: Sports gambling is capable of bringing in a lot of money for the government which can be used towards so many options to benefit the country.  According to Forbes, legalized sports betting would be capable of bringing in $6.03 billion annually by 2023 (https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2017/09/27/how-legalized-sports-betting-could-bring-in-6-03-billion-annually-by-2023/#178cd64d79ec).  Legalizing sports betting would also lower the rate of "bookies" being used in the United States which is a major federal crime.
• Testing the why: People are doing sports betting illegally because it simply is not legal in majority of the states in the U.S.  People want to pursue legalizing sports betting so they have the chance to make more money legally while at the same time not committing a crime.
• Interview #1:
• My first interview was conducted with a 21 year old male who is currently earning his graduates degree.  His opinion on sports betting is that he believes that it should be legal.  He touched on thinking that the NFL and NHL made interesting and smart moves bringing teams to Las Vegas.  He believes that it is a smart idea because it is bringing more of a reason to come out to Vegas for a game.  With people being in Vegas, they are more attracted to bet on the sports games while being able to bet on the other sporting events that are going on around the world.  He had also stated how he knows how there are "bookies" and how bad it is to become involved in it.  He stated how he sees commercials of gambling apps as well that are beginning to become popular.
• Interview #2:
• This interview, I decided to speak with a man in his 50's that has been watching sports since he was a kid.  He as well believes that sports betting should be legal because of the money the United States would be able to get.  He stated that he does not see harm in it as long as it is made legal and people are doing it the right way.  He claimed that he knows of the NBA commissioner trying to make a move on it and believes that if more leaders step up, there will be a possible chance of it being legal in all of the states in America.
• Interview #3
• In this interview, I decided to speak with a female who claims she follows some sports but usually more towards when the seasons are coming to a close and the "big events" are happening.  She stated how herself would not care much about it because she does not see herself becoming involved in it whether it was legal or illegal.  She did mention how she does see it as something people enjoy doing and if it isn't as bad as what people think it do be than it should be legalized.
• Interview #4
• This interviewee is a older man who has been around sports for years.  He believes that there should not be sports betting in the United States.  He noted that he feels as if he is more old fashioned towards the law and everyone should live by the law with no exceptions to it.
• Interview #5
• In this interview, I was able to speak with a 21 year old student that grew up in England. He expressed how big sports betting was in England and sees no problem with it.  He strongly believes it should be legalized in the United States.  He explained how at sporting events there are ways to bet at the actual stadiums and events that are being taken place.  He also expressed how people in England love sports betting and find it to make sports more interesting and fun to watch.
• Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before?
• One of the most interesting facts I learned was from my last interview with the 21 year old student that grew up in England.  I always knew how they were very passionate about soccer, but I did not know that sports betting was so big there.  I did not know that they have spots where you can place bets at the actual events.
• In my first interview, I thought a really good point was made when talking about the teams moving to Las Vegas.  It never came to my mind how a lot of money could be made since it it legalized in Nevada.  Having betting spots throughout the stadium would be an awesome idea since there will be tourists everywhere and it gives them another reason to go to Vegas besides the gambling part.
• I thought in my second interview it was interesting how the NBA commissioner claims he supports sports betting.  I found this interesting because as people continue to speak up, we could see more of a change in other states in regards to gambling.