If you bet on the Philadelphia Eagles last night, odds are you used an online betting service.
Americans bet on football more than any other sport, and more and more of them are turning to the Internet to place those bets.
According to USA Today, online gambling sites have increased from 25 in 1997 to about 1,800 currently.
This year gamblers will lose more than $3 billion to online sports books, most of which operate out of the Caribbean or Latin America because online gambling is illegal in the United States.
And Bloomberg News predicts that the worldwide online wagering market will grow to $12.6 billion by 2006.
Although sports betting is legal in Las Vegas, other cities where gambling is legal -- like nearby Atlantic City -- forbid it.
Carl Golden, media consultant for the Casino Association of New Jersey, said there was a move less than 10 years ago to legalize sports betting here, but federal regulations keep the practice illegal.
Golden believes that legal sports books would greatly help Atlantic City.
"It would rival Las Vegas in terms of the events you could bet on," Golden said. "Had it occurred at that time, it would have grown exponentially since then."
Federal officials are trying to crack down on online betting.
In July, a Senate committee voted to ban credit-card payments to Internet casinos, to better control online sports books.
No matter what the merits and drawbacks, one thing is clear: Americans love to gamble on sports, legal or not. And no sport sees more gambling action than professional football.
David Carruthers, chief executive officer of the BOS Gaming Group, which operates the world's largest online sports book -- BetonSports.com -- said that more than 40 percent of the company's business derives from NFL football.
Why are Americans, who account for 90 percent of his business, so obsessed with betting on professional football?
"The NFL is a cultural thing," he said. "It is about enhancing the value for an individual who's watching the game. It makes watching the game so much better."
Carruthers said he believes sports books will eventually become legal in the U.S. Right now, the country is missing out on a major revenue source by outlawing online gambling, he added.
"Over the course of time, it is inevitable that online sports books will come onshore in the United States," he said. "I think the U.S. is missing out on a huge opportunity."
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-4/106308821684880.xml
Americans bet on football more than any other sport, and more and more of them are turning to the Internet to place those bets.
According to USA Today, online gambling sites have increased from 25 in 1997 to about 1,800 currently.
This year gamblers will lose more than $3 billion to online sports books, most of which operate out of the Caribbean or Latin America because online gambling is illegal in the United States.
And Bloomberg News predicts that the worldwide online wagering market will grow to $12.6 billion by 2006.
Although sports betting is legal in Las Vegas, other cities where gambling is legal -- like nearby Atlantic City -- forbid it.
Carl Golden, media consultant for the Casino Association of New Jersey, said there was a move less than 10 years ago to legalize sports betting here, but federal regulations keep the practice illegal.
Golden believes that legal sports books would greatly help Atlantic City.
"It would rival Las Vegas in terms of the events you could bet on," Golden said. "Had it occurred at that time, it would have grown exponentially since then."
Federal officials are trying to crack down on online betting.
In July, a Senate committee voted to ban credit-card payments to Internet casinos, to better control online sports books.
No matter what the merits and drawbacks, one thing is clear: Americans love to gamble on sports, legal or not. And no sport sees more gambling action than professional football.
David Carruthers, chief executive officer of the BOS Gaming Group, which operates the world's largest online sports book -- BetonSports.com -- said that more than 40 percent of the company's business derives from NFL football.
Why are Americans, who account for 90 percent of his business, so obsessed with betting on professional football?
"The NFL is a cultural thing," he said. "It is about enhancing the value for an individual who's watching the game. It makes watching the game so much better."
Carruthers said he believes sports books will eventually become legal in the U.S. Right now, the country is missing out on a major revenue source by outlawing online gambling, he added.
"Over the course of time, it is inevitable that online sports books will come onshore in the United States," he said. "I think the U.S. is missing out on a huge opportunity."
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-4/106308821684880.xml
