As more and more places in the United States legalize sports betting, many are starting to wonder whether even the most stubborn holdouts will reconsider their own stances. And if that’s the case, would it then mean there’s finally pressure to legalize Idaho sports betting?
Before digging further into the USA sports gambling landscape, we have to make one reality abundantly clear: There are no plans on the horizon to legalize sports betting in Idaho at this time. The Gem State remains among the places that has yet to even seriously discuss the matter.
In fact, experts have estimated that we might be underrating Idaho’s disinterest in the legalization of sports gambling. Some have even speculated that The Gem State would never approve sports gambling, no matter what’s happening around them—and throughout the rest of the country.
It’s tough to argue against any pessimism, however doom and gloom it skews. The legalization of sports gambling requires some semblance of interest—dialogue, discussion, studies, polls, anything. Idaho, to this point, has embraced none of it. Sports betting conversations have ranged from nonexistent to short-lived. That remains the status quo in 2024.
Still, times change. And make no mistake, the sports betting industry in the United States is changing. It started as situational, then it became prevalent, and now, it’s downright ubiquitous. And it’s this mushrooming popularity that could, in theory, lead to Idaho sports betting morphing into more of a priority in the not-too-distant future.
The Absence of Idaho Sports Betting is Now the Exception Rather Than the Rule
For a while after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional Amateur Sports Protection back in 2018, the legalization of sports betting was neither considered standard nor a formality. States with sports gambling the exception—the minority. Fast forward to 2024, though, and the script has completely flipped.
As of February 2024, 38 of the 50 states in the USA have already rolled out legal sports gambling. What’s more, that number is expected to reach or exceed 40 by the end of the year. Optimism is mounting that sports betting in Missouri, sports betting in Minnesota and sports betting in Georgia will be legalized by the end of 2024. If this proves accurate, that would mean 41 of 50 states have greenlit some form of sports gambling. That’s 82 percent of the entire USA. So, not only is the absence of Idaho sports betting part of the minority, but it's an incredibly tiny minority. And the group may soon grow even smaller. States like Texas and California are considered locks to legalize sports betting within the next half-decade. Meanwhile, recent developments suggest that sports betting in Hawaii and sports betting in Alabama are not that far off, either.
Realistically speaking, before we reach 2030, around 45 of 50 states could end up approving some form of sports gambling—or 90 percent of the entire USA. At some point even staunch opponents of sports gambling in Idaho will have to acknowledge the practice is too ubiquitous, too ingrained into society, to simply ignore.
Other Holdout States are Embracing Legal Sports Gambling…Could Idaho Follow Suit
Tons of people, including experts, didn’t think sports betting in Vermont or sports betting in Alabama would be legalized anytime soon. Well, Vermont online sports betting launched in January 2024 while the latest piece of gambling legislation in Alabama is picking up serious steam.
Given both of those states have started changing their tune, it would be foolish to assume Idaho sports betting is an impossibility. After all, money talks. And right now, it’s speaking volumes. As David A. Lieb wrote for the Associate Press right around the Vermont online sports betting launch, policymakers are finding it harder and harder to overlook the financial benefit of regulated gambling in the USA:
“Other states have reaped a total of over $4 billion of taxes from more than $280 billion wagered on sports since 2018. Vermont will become the latest to accept sports bets, starting Jan. 11. But the odds for expansion to additional states appear iffy in 2024 because of political resistance and the sometimes competing financial interests of existing gambling operators. ‘The handful of states yet to legalize are last for a reason: They all have multiple obstacles,’ said Becca Giden, policy director at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a California-based consulting firm. After a ‘whirlwind’ of expansion, the playing field for further sports betting has narrowed to a group of states where various stakeholders all ‘want to kind of maximize what they get out of the legalization framework,’ said Chris Cylke, senior vice president of government relations at the American Gaming Association, which represents the industry. ‘So that can create some friction.’”
To Idaho’s credit, they don’t fall under the “friction” or “warring stakeholders” umbrella. Again, officials have barely broached the subject of Idaho sports betting. But recent trends are opening the door for them in other ways.
Is Online Sports Betting in Idaho the Key to Legalization?
More and more places are choosing to let online sportsbooks in the USA legally operate inside their market—even if they don’t allow on-site wagering. Sports betting in Tennessee was among the first to follow this model. Most recently, Vermont followed their lead.
On top of that, more and more states still debating the matter are placing an increased emphasis on mobile betting sites. The battle over sports betting in Oklahoma is currently tied up in differing views of how online sports gambling should be handled.
Mobile wagering is an especially appealing option for markets with a limited number of tribal casinos, no pro sports teams and lower population totals. That describes Idaho to a T. The legalization of Idaho online sports betting would put to bed concerns that regulated gambling wouldn’t be accessible enough to everyone in the state.
Granted, this doesn’t address opponents who consider sports betting immoral or who don’t think the uptick in state revenue is worth the added risk of problem gambling. But every industry has its share of detractors. So while these are all valid concerns, they don’t render the odds of Idaho sports betting getting legalized hopeless.
Mark our words, as the industry continues setting up shop in virtually every other state in the country, Idaho sports betting will become a larger priority. It won’t happen in 2024. Or 2025. It may not happen in 2026 or 2027, either. But the current landscape suggests it will happen…eventually.
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