Opportunity in Sports Gambling

  1)   I believe there is a huge opportunity in the sports gambling industry. Sports gambling has been legal in Las Vegas for some time now and more states can finally start to legalize it now. There is a huge opportunity for professional and college sports to earn a cut of every bet that is made.

2)   The unmet need in the sports gambling industry is simple. Only 5 states have full scale legalized sports betting. Those include Nevada, New Jersey, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Delaware. The unmet need is that a lot of people are interested in sports gambling across the country, however only a select few states actually allow it. The people who have this unmet need is anyone who is interested in sports gambling that does not live in one of the 5 states that allow it. This need has been around for a while, and until the Supreme Court recently passed a bill to allow states to legislate their own sports betting laws, people had to use illegal online betting services to meet their needs. Today, people are still using illegal betting services. Whether that be with a private "bookie" or an illegal online betting site, the vast majority of people who want to gamble on sports are doing it regardless of the laws and will continue to do it until the laws in their states have changed.

3) The prototypical customer of a sports gambling industry is absolutely anyone who is looking to wager money on a specific sporting event, or outcome in the future of sports.

4) Iterations

a) Student, Male (Business Major)

What is the exact nature of the need?
- I am always looking to make a sports bet on the big games and hate that I have to use an online site instead of being able to go somewhere and make a bet in person.

When did you experience this need?
- As I said, I am always looking to make a sports bet, I realize there is a need to legalize sports betting every time I go online to make a bet.

How often do you experience this need?
- Very often, I'd say close to 2-3 times per week.

How are you currently addressing this need?
- I typically use Bovada.com and make bets online there.

How satisfied are you with this solution?
- I would be thrilled if this were to happen in Florida within the next few weeks.

b) Student, Male (Business Major)

What is the exact nature of the need?
- I do not typically make bets on sporting events unless I am very confident that the bet I am making will be the correct one.

When did you experience this need?
- A couple of days ago I actually wanted to make a bet on the Patriots winning their division in football this year, but I had to set up an account on an online site, which caused me to no longer want to make the bet.

How often do you experience this need?
-Not often, I really only am interested in making bets once or twice in a month

How are you currently addressing this need?
- One of my good friends is actually a bookie for me and some of my friends so I'll typically place bets with him whenever I want to make one.

How satisfied are you with this solution?
- I think legalizing gambling across the country would be very convenient and beneficial to the economy.

a) Student, Female (Sport Management Major)

What is the exact nature of the need?
- I am not really sure, I have never made a bet on sports in my life. The only gambling I've ever taken part in is blackjack with my friends.

When did you experience this need?
- I have never experienced the need to make a sports bet because I do not have a way to make any bets.

How often do you experience this need?
- As a sports fan, I'd say there have been times every month that I have wanted to make a sports bet but had no way of doing it.

How are you currently addressing this need?
- I do not make any sports bets because there is no way for me to do it.

How satisfied are you with this solution?
- I would love for there to be legalized gambling. It would make me feel more intrigued to go make a sports bet rather than trying to use some website that might be a scam.

5) I learned many things about my opportunity after conducting these interviews. I found that guys are much more likely to use an illegal gambling service than women are, however women are still interested in sports gambling. The most surprising thing that I learned from the interviews is that almost everyone is interested in gambling, or at least has made bets on things throughout their life.

6) When I began writing this blog, I wanted to talk mainly about the possibility for a professional sports organization to earn a cut out of every bet that is made once it is legalized. However, after conducting the interviews and doing more research about the topic, I found that there is a much greater opportunity for individual states to make money off sports gambling. Sports gambling will only benefit the economy, and it will protect gamblers from wagering their hard earned money on a website that may be a scam. I think all of my original opportunity is still an opportunity, however I believe my new opportunity is much greater than the original. These ideas do not have to be separate though. There is a very good chance that both of these opportunities can be worked together to make more people within our society happier. Finally, I think one of the most important traits of an entrepreneur is their ability to listen to their customers, if they cannot listen to what their customers want then they will never be able to have a successful idea.