We received quite a few calls this week regarding the possibilities for high risk merchant services solutions for sports betting from very excited merchants on the other end of the line. They were reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which made sports betting illegal (outside Nevada that is).
Though premature, the merchants collective excitement is understandable. Merchants are looking to get in early, to seize the possibilities. It is a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, that will allow intrastate sports betting in the U.S. states that allow such: New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. Consumers may wager on sporting events at brick and mortar facilities in those states which offer sports betting.
As far as merchants seeking high risk merchant services solutions for online sports betting, it will take an act of Congress to make that happen. Truly. But the reversal of PASPA yesterday is a step in the right direction, and several U.S. states are clamoring at the idea of the revenue they could generate from legalized sports betting.
If we had to guess when consumers could start placing online bets from anywhere in the U.S., we’d give it five years.
So what exactly is going to change from this ruling?
Certainly nothing will happen right away, other than folks having the ability to legally place bets at New Jersey brick and mortar establishments, such as Monmouth Park racetrack, which already has the infrastructure to do so (New Jersey has longed to legalize sports betting since 2012, during the Chris Christie years as governor).
It is much too premature for us to start advertising high risk merchant services solutions for sports betting. If and when that act of Congress happens, we do have the acquiring banking partners in place.
According to many news pieces we’ve read, the PASPA overturn is likely the start of a trend: more states are ready to move forward to follow New Jersey, namely Mississippi and West Virginia. We haven’t seen our home state of New Hampshire mentioned anywhere, but we do think neighboring Massachusetts will follow, since it is in the process of building a large Casino in the Boston suburb of Everett.
If we had to guess, Pennsylvania has long been in the conversation of legal sports betting and is a logical choice to act. So is New York, which signed into law the Daily Fantasy Sports Bill in June of 2016. The Washington Post also named Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island and possibly Maryland.
The few states that will legalize sports betting will have the eyes of every state in the Union upon them, tracking its popularity and monthly and quarterly revenue figures. The aforementioned states will serve as the litmus test for the rest of the U.S. If the figures reflect consistent revenue, no doubt the remaining states will clamor to do the same, which could then prompt Congress to step in.
Regarding that act of Congress…
The act of consumers placing a bet on, for example, a baseball game, from anywhere in the U.S., isn’t going to happen as long as each state has its own regulations. This is where Congress needs to step in to make this happen, by making a standard set of regulations that all states agree to follow.
Only then will the talk of nationwide online gambling and sports betting begin to get real. Alas, we’re years away from that stage.
A 10-minute conversation about high risk merchant services solutions
We at Instabill do our best to open each business relationship with a 10-minute conversation to find out the key elements of a business before going forward. Immediately, we establish a connection with prospective merchant partners and decide then and there whether or not we’re able to find high risk merchant services solutions for them.
We’re always up for that conversation at 1-800-530-2444.
