For many years now, sports betting has been illegal in the United States. Of course, you could take a punt in the mecca of all things gambling – Nevada – but elsewhere, your options were limited to shady illegal bookmakers.
All that is set to change quickly, however. Recently, a Supreme Court ruling has overturned the Professional an Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. It was actually the state of New Jersey that launched the initial challenge to the twenty-six-year-old legislation. That hardly matters though. Many other states are expected to quickly put together their own laws that will govern the matter.
This means that the current illegal market that experts estimate is between $80 billion and $150 billion a year strong is about to absolutely explode into the mainstream. With it, a lot of potential job opportunities will appear too. A look at the UK’s gambling industry is somewhat telling in this regard. More than 106,000 people are currently employed in some capacity of the legal sports book and casino market there. When you consider that the US has around five times as large a population as the UK, it’s easy to just how big a deal the change in legislation will be in terms of job creation.
We’ve checked out existing markets where sports betting is legal to bring some of the more lucrative opportunities to your attention. If you’re hoping to find a job in this exciting and soon-to-be rapidly expanding industry, you’re in the right place.
Sports Bookmaker
Perhaps the most obvious job opportunity presented by the liberalization of gambling laws in the US is that of the sports bookmaker. The role of the bookmaker is to set odds, take wagers, and pay out winnings. The idea is to set the odds in such a way that the you’ll make profit irrespective of the outcome of a game, race, match, or whatever you are offering odds on.
Of course, to do this you’ll need to have a great head for numbers. You’ll also be required to understand the betting industry inside out and how to change odds quickly to prevent savvy gamblers taking you to the cleaners. There’s no requirement to have any formal training in mathematics to become a sports book operator but high-level qualification in math or statistics with certainly help.
Of course, there are other members of staff that are required for sports bookmakers to offer their services to the public. These include customer service representatives, people to actually work in brick-and-mortar bookmakers, and marketeers.
It’s highly likely that large established brands from overseas will quickly swoop in and hinder American entrepreneurs’ chances of setting up industry-leading bookmakers. However, these companies will still require the positions listed above.
Compliance Manager
Another vital position at both land-based and online bookmakers is the compliance manager. Since sports betting deals with peoples’ hard-earned cash, it’s crucial that the letter of the law is followed stringently. Costly law suits from disgruntled customers will certainly eat into the company’s bottom line!
This presents a great opportunity for those who have studied law to a high level. Compliance managers will make sure that all operations at a sports book are legal, and the customers’ security and safety is preserved.
Since the regulations concerning the operation of US sports books will be brand new, there is a clear opportunity to become an early expert in the field, particularly if you have already studied gambling law in relation to the operation of legal casinos. Compliance managers will be in high demand and if you’re one of the best of a small bunch of local talent, you can demand the biggest bucks.
Affiliate
What good is a gambling service if no one knows about it? Affiliates are often overlooked but they play a vital role. With such an opportunity to turn a shady illegally run industry into a legitimate one, there will suddenly be a lot of casinos wanting to get noticed potential customers.
Enter the sportsbook affiliate. Affiliates take advantage of a platform’s affiliate program and are rewarded for each customer they are able to get signed up to a website or brick-and-mortar sportsbook. Sites offering new players incentives to join an online casino are a dime a dozen with only a few offering real value. They advertise the latest offers at various online sports books and casinos. Meanwhile, other affiliates will promote casinos by offering reviews of their services or gameplay guides.
It’s very easy to become an affiliate. However, becoming a successful one is much trickier. You must provide great content, stay up-to-date with the platform’s products and offers that you’re promoting, and have profound knowledge of search engine optimization. Of course, being able to build and maintain websites yourself is also advantageous as it will keep overheads down. That said, if you’re great with HTML but not so good at putting a sentence together, you can outsource the writing using a talent marketplace such as Upwork. Alternatively, you could pick up a developer from such a service and produce the content yourself. Above all, play to your strengths!