Betting or gambling is one of the oldest social activities of civilization. It preceded history and record-keeping and has evolved into an industry, which has been growing for decades now. It was assisted by the digital revolution which rendered betting as easy as writing a text message and it was further boosted by the legislative changes in the US three years ago. Several market researchers believe that the market will experience meteoric rise over the next few years, with the size of the industry rising well over $100bn.
Deciphering the betting industry and its role and influence over competitions and games is a complex task, as there are both costs and benefits emanating from the existence of the betting industry. On one hand, you have millions of dollars in sponsorships and deals for clubs and athletes that help take sports to the next level. On the other, you have match fixing and illegal betting.
This month we will explore the relationship between match-fixing and illegal betting, the pros and cons of the betting industry, as well as the role of money laundering and how it feeds into sports betting, and athletes in particular. Finally, as we are slowly approaching toward the end of 2021, we will provide an overview of the key themes and lessons we tried to highlight and convey this year on the Money Smart Athlete Blog.
Athena P. Constantinou
E-mail: [email protected]