Constable: Weed is profitable, but sports betting has higher expectations
Illinois' new marijuana sales brought in about $20 million in the first two weeks of legality. As impressive as that sounds, the real money will arrive soon, when the Illinois Gaming Board issues licenses or temporary operating permits for legal sports betting. Unlike the legal weed explosion, legalized sports gambling won't be tethered to supply shortages or inconvenienced by long lines.
Indiana opened sports betting in September and took in $436 million by year's end, with profits growing each month, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission.
With 14 states now offering legalized sports betting, and Illinois and five other states expected to get in the game soon, betting on Sunday's Super Bowl is expected to reach $6.8 billion, with more than 26 million Americans placing bets, according to the American Gaming Association.
While Illinois initially will require people to place sports bets at a casino, racetrack or large sports venue, Indiana found that once gamblers set up online accounts, most simply use their phones, tablets or computers to place bets. Being able to sit on your couch in front of a TV, or maybe even at the game, and bet on sports will create a gambling market such as we've never seen before.
I first realized how strong that pull of sports gambling was during a lazy afternoon at Wrigley Field in the summer of 1979. As I stretched across a couple of rows in the sparsely populated right-field bleachers, I watched a trio of fans bet a quarter on virtually every pitch. One seemed busy just keeping track of the bets with his scorecard pencil and a notebook. The other two wagered on whether the next pitch would be a ball, a strike, a foul, or something more exciting. It was interesting, sad, puzzling and exhausting.
I do remember they told me that the best bet on a 3-2 pitch was a foul ball, because you could win several times in a row if the batter kept fouling off pitches. I also remember that their final tallies of the day were within a couple bucks of each other. The odds have a way of evening out, and the gracious winner could buy the loser an Old Style to even things up.
That might not be the case when a fan is betting with his cellphone instead of a friend.
Wagering through online services such as DraftKings and FanDuel has an 18-month waiting period for those companies to apply for an Illinois online betting license, which means it might not arrive until 2022. But sports betting at brick-and-mortar locations in our state might be up and running in time to place March Madness bets on the NCAA basketball tourney.
When marijuana became legal on Jan. 1, I tried it for the first time in my life. When sports betting becomes legal, I won't have that same temptation. Gambling never lets me feel good. If I bet $10 on the Chicago Bears to win the 2021 Super Bowl and they lose, I feel bad for losing 10 bucks. If I bet $10 on the Bears to win next year's title and they emerge victorious at 25-1 odds to give me $250, I feel bad that I bet only 10 bucks instead of all the money I had.
Super Bowl prop bets let you bet on outcomes ranging from the color of the Gatorade poured on the winning coach to how long Demi Lovato will take to sing the national anthem. That attracts gamblers who just like to be part of the action.
By next year's Super Bowl, the combination of legal marijuana and legal sports betting should bring Illinois plenty of tax revenue from fans guilty of GUI - gambling under the influence.