Every election cycle it seems like sports gambling is becoming legal in more and more states.
Maryland, Louisiana and South Dakota … but not in Texas -- at least, not this election cycle.
The months of July, August and September were a bonanza for sports fans and for gamblers.
Many leagues postponed their seasons in the spring and early summer due to the Coronavirus pandemic but, restarted them in late summer.
For the first time, bettors could wager on all four major team sports -- baseball, basketball, hockey and football.
Other big sporting events like the Kentucky derby, golf’s PGA and U.S. open championships and the start of the French open tennis tournament shifted from their usual late spring or early summer times into the third quarter.
That never happens -- and the companies clearly benefited from this Coronavirus-fueled quirk in the sports calendar.
The companies Draftkings and FanDuel are the clear leaders in the gambling industry, which has been growing at a rapid clip since the us supreme court ruled in 2018 that individual states could legalize sports betting.
Draftkings does business in 10 states, while FanDuel is in 11.
You might see Draftkings and FanDuel the most but there are more companies entering the mix.
One gaining popularity is from casino owner Penn National Gaming, who has a big minority stake in barstool sports and it just launched a barstool-branded sports betting app.
So as more and more states legalize sports betting, expect to see more and more ads.