If there is one thing everyone can agree on, is that the new coronavirus disease caught all of us off-guard. One might normally expect third-world countries to be hit the worst by the virus. However, it was not the case as even first-world countries with top of the line healthcare was hit the worst such as Italy and the United States. The crisis of the pandemic brought major problems not only in terms of public health. It also did a major hit in the economy.
Due to strict lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and the implementation of social and physical distancing, many businesses across various different sectors were forced to close down. When they would reopen, no one can say for sure. Due to the extended time of revenue loss, a lot of businesses have thrown the towel and declared bankruptcy. Others, on the other hand, still try to keep their businesses alive through government-initiated loans and amelioration programs.
With that, the government also suffered an economic loss. With money businesses going out of operation, going bankrupt, or taking a loan, revenue from the tax is expected to be significantly less than expected. However, there could be one industry that could still save the economy by bringing in big amounts of revenue. These are apps and services like Bet9ja, or the world of sports betting.
How sports betting can save the economy
Even before this whole crisis, the revenue of the sports betting industry is nothing less than big. In a report of figures, it was revealed that since June 2018 until now, the total revenue of sports betting cashed into the government amounted to no less than $200 million.
Take into mind that this figure only shows revenue from sports betting. This does not include other forms of gambling such as land-based casinos and online casinos.
One more thing that should be of interest here is that, while that number is already huge, that only came from less than half the states of the country, as sports betting is only currently legal in 23 states. If sports betting would be lead in more states–or even better, the entire country–these numbers might be doubled or even more, tripled in amount.
With most sectors now either going bankrupt or suffering from great losses, the sports betting industry was able to stay afloat even in these trying times. While live sporting events have been canceled until further notice, sports betting operations kept on going with online sports betting.
This means that while other sectors stopped bringing in state revenue, the sports betting industry continues to provide revenue, if not more than before. With people stuck in their homes, those who used to gamble and bet on sports still sought to do so, and therefore do their activities now though online and mobile providers.
Legalization on more states soon?
As it is right now, there are only 23 states that have managed to make sports betting a legal activity under the law. On the other hand, 16 more states have bills already proposed that also seeks to legalize sports betting as an activity protected, regulated, and taxed by the government. Should all these pending bills on other states pass, online sports betting apps like Bet9ja will then be able to operate legally and thus also bring in state revenue.
While the revenue from sports betting is far from being a major part of tax collections, it can be considered a much-needed push right now–as some would say, any additional revenue is good revenue, instead of having none at all.
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Interesting related article: “What are Games of Chance?“