Ten Moments That Defined U.S. Sports Betting in 2021
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Note: This is part of a series reviewing the major sports betting stories of 2021.
Regular sports schedules returned in 2021 and with more states legalizing and launching sports betting, this past year saw the highest amount of sports wagering activity.
There were big wins, excruciating losses and impactful news in the gaming industry.
Here are some of the biggest storylines from an eventful 2021.
1. Super Bowl Betting Sets Records
According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), Americans combined to place more than $4.3 billion on Super Bowl LV, including the largest U.S. betting handle of any single sporting event in history. The study included licensed and unlicensed channels in addition to private bets with friends.
“This year’s Super Bowl is expected to generate the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history,” AGA President and Chief Executive Bill Miller said. “With a robust legal market, Americans are abandoning illegal bookies and taking their action into the regulated marketplace in record numbers.”
From states that reported their NFL betting handle, the Super Bowl generated $435.5 million in wagers with Nevada ($136.1 million), New Jersey ($117.4 million) and Pennsylvania ($53.6 million) leading the way.
But the new records weren’t set without some issues. There was a betting outage for those sportsbooks using Kambi. The software provider said it handled three times the number of transactions for Super Bowl LV and noted a popular bet caused a backlog that slowed and prevented bets from being taken.
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GAN Limited, another software provider company, reported it took 14.6 million bets on the Super Bowl for a year-over-year increase of 186%. The company appeared to take a shot at Kambi in a media release.
“GAN delivers uninterrupted technical performance with over 14 million bets processed on the day of Super Bowl LV.”
2. New Jersey $1 billion handle
New Jersey set a monthly sports betting handle record in September, taking in $1.01 billion in bets, making it the first state to eclipse the $1 billion mark in monthly handle.
The record didn’t last long, though, with the Garden state breaking its own record in October with a handle of $1.3 billion.
3. Big wins
The big parlay bets wins were evident in 2021, including a New Jersey bettor who won over $237,000 thanks to a 25-team parlay on Caesars Sportsbook. But two of the biggest and more memorable cash outs came from the PGA Tour and the MLB.
A bettor on DraftKings placed a $1,000 bet on Phil Mickelson to win the PGA Championship. Mickelson managed to win the event by two strokes over Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen, becoming the oldest player to ever win a major at 50-years old.
MORE IN YEAR-END SERIES: How the three biggest states – California, Texas and Florida – are faring in their efforts to get sports betting launched.
Mickelson entered the event without a top 10 in his last 16 starts and the No. 115 ranking in the world. It was the sixth major of his career and ended up earning a bettor $300,000.
Caesars Sportsbook also took a loss on Shohei Ohtani winning the American League MVP award. In March, a bettor in Nevada placed a $30,000 bet on Ohtani at 30-1 odds to win AL MVP. Ohtani hit 46 home runs, 100 RBIs and also went 9-2 as a pitcher with 156 strikeouts. The bettor earned a $900,000 payday from Ohtani’s MVP season.
4. More states enter the market
Sports betting continued to expand across the country in 2021 with 11 states going live with some form of sports betting and six other states legalizing it.
Michigan, which launched its online sports betting market on Jan. 22, 2021, became the fastest state to reach $1 billion in wagers after it took in $1.03 billion in bets through 99 days.
The betting activity from the new states has resulted in 2021 taking the most action in history. In 2020, the U.S. sports betting handle reached $21.5 billion. In Q3 of 2021, the U.S. betting handle eclipsed $35.12 billion, which is up 63% from the 2020 full-year amount. Not all states have reported their November and December figures, but the increased betting so far has led to 2021 being the busiest year for sports betting in the country.
5. New York selects online operators
New York made progress in launching its online market when it approved internet sports betting licenses for nine operators on Monday. The New York mobile market is one of the more lucrative ones, with Macquarie projecting the state could hit $1 billion in annual revenue. The state estimates annual tax revenue from online sports betting will reach $493 million by the start of 2025.
The operators approved for New York includes: FanDuel, Bally Bet, DraftKings, BetMGM, Rush Street Interactive, WynnBet, Caesars, PointsBet and Resorts World.
New York is working towards having its online market live before the Super Bowl on Feb. 13.
MORE IN YEAR-END SERIES: Sports Betting Industry Recording Big Numbers Across Board for 2021.
6. In-state college sports betting still banned in New Jersey
The state with the most betting activity still doesn’t allow wagering on in-state college teams. In November, voters in New Jersey decided to reject a ballot measure that would have allowed bettors to place bets on Rutgers, Seton Hall, Princeton and other local schools. College games that take place in New Jersey also can’t be bet on by the state’s residents.
As it stands, this means bettors within New Jersey won’t be able to bet on the NCAA Tournament games when the Prudential Center in Newark hosts the NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional in 2025.
7. Caesars Acquires William Hill
Caesars Sportsbook bolstered its betting and gambling operations with its acquisition of William Hill for $4 billion in April.
"We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of William Hill, combining two of the premier operations in the sports betting and iGaming industries under one roof," Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said in a media release. "We look forward to announcing future sports partnerships that will drive long-term growth."
The previous William Hill sports betting website and app was rebranded under the Caesars name. Caesars also launched a robust marketing campaign headlined by J.B. Smoove and the Manning family to highlight its renewed sports betting apps.
8. Micro-Betting Debuts on DraftKings
Bettors who always wanted to wager on things such as the next pitch in a baseball game or whether the next made shot in a basketball contest will be a two or a 3-pointer, were finally able to do so in 2021.
In August, DraftKings announced a deal with the micro-betting platform, SimpleBet, allowing DraftKings to post bets on in-game events in the NFL, MLB, NBA and college football.
“We’re thrilled to be launching our real-money micro-betting products with DraftKings,” Chris Bevilacqua, the co-founder and CEO of Simplebet, said in a media release. “These types of offerings represent the next evolution of sports betting and deliver enhanced opportunities for operators and fans alike. We look forward to the successful roll-out and to showcasing the excitement that comes with micro-betting.”
9. Google drops ban on sports betting apps in Play Store
With sports betting and casino gaming becoming more prevalent in the U.S., Google lifted the ban that prevented content and services from online gambling apps from appearing in the Google Play Store. The policy change took effect on March 1 and allowed Google to display real-money gambling apps, ads related to gambling and daily fantasy sports apps in the Google Play Store.
10. NFL launches responsible gambling initiative
As gambling becomes more prevalent, responsible betting and education becomes paramount. The NFL is annually one of the most bet on sports leagues and it announced this year it was putting forth a new gambling awareness program designed to educate fans who chose to take part in sports betting.
The key parts of the plan include sticking to a game plan, setting a budget to know their limits, using licensed and regulated operators and asking for help if needed.
"We feel it is critical that the NFL uses the power of our voice to educate and encourage fans who choose to bet to do so in a safe and responsible way," Christopher Halpin, NFL Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer said in a media release. "We also recognize that responsible betting programs across the country are under-resourced, especially as legalization spreads nationwide. Collectively, all of us in the sports and betting industries need to learn from international examples and make sure the development of education and support programs matches the state-by-state growth in legalized sports betting. In collaboration with the National Council on Problem Gambling and our commercial partners, the league is fully committed to advancing responsible betting awareness, education, and problem-gambling support."
As part of the initiative, the NFL made a multimillion, multi-year commitment to expand its partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). The NFL’s funding goes to assisting the NCPG in launching a national grant program to fund enhanced services offered by local and statewide providers.
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