00:00OK, so, you know, one other part of the story that's aside from sports betting is the idea that sometimes these markets that are left without legal sports betting open up casino wagering, casino gambling, either in person, online, different sort of ways to bet.
00:18But there are analysts out there that feel saying that kind of one goes with the other.
00:22And so naturally, it doesn't feel like we're getting any closer to some of those markets coming into play here in 2025, maybe not even 2026.
00:30Yeah, when sports betting first was allowed to become legal by the Supreme Court in 2018, companies were obviously very happy to offer sports betting companies that have been doing fantasy sports and casino companies as well, like Caesars and MGM.
00:46But the real endgame for them has always been online casino legislation.
00:50That's where you make the real money if you're an online operator.
00:53I think the margin in sports betting is about 10 percent to 13 percent, depending.
00:57And when you talk about online casino, like online blackjack, other games you can just have on your phone, those margins are like closer to 50 percent.
01:05So that's where a lot more money comes in.
01:08Initially, kind of when online casino legislation started spreading through the United States, a lot of people thought that the more that states make money off it, the more states other states would be encouraged to do it.
01:19But fast forward to today, we only have six states where it's legal.
01:23Meanwhile, they just had a record month with over nine hundred and fifty million dollars in revenue in just six states.
01:29That's way more than sports betting.
01:31But analysts, meanwhile, don't think that that is going to move the needle still.
01:35So it kind of leads the question of, you know, if not now, then when for online casino, multiple analysts came out this week and said they expect groups like the AGA, groups like the Sports Betting Alliance to continue pressuring states like Maryland, New York and Illinois to pass online casino legislation this year.
01:53And the thinking is usually if one of those big states like Illinois, for example, in the Midwest passes it, then other states around it would be encouraged.
02:01But they just don't see that happening this year when it comes to everything else we're talking about, aside from prediction markets, aside from other states dealing with casino issues like New York, which is planning to launch three downstate casinos next year.
02:15And Illinois, which is opening up another casino and dealing with the sports betting tax issue as well right now, on top of all the other legislative priorities that are non gambling in the state, there doesn't seem to be much appetite for it this year.
02:27Now, that could always change depending on one state having legislation that picks up and influencing others.
02:33But right now it looks like sports betting companies are going to be having to wait another year to try to advance online casino, which at the end of the day has always been the end game for sports betting.
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