In the United States and the American Gaming Association trade group has forecast that the country will likely experience a 36% sequential rise in the number of people wagering on action from the National Football League (NFL).

The organization used an official Tuesday press release to detail that its own research showed that a record 45.2 million Americans are planning to place a bet on a professional gridiron football game this season, which equates to a full 18% of the adult population of the United States. The latest edition of the NFL is scheduled to get underway from tomorrow evening with punters in 18 states and the District of Columbia able to lodge legal sportsbetting wagers following the 2018 invalidation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

Growing gang:

The American Gaming Association explained that the 102nd NFL season will conclude on February 13 with Super Bowl LVI and that seven additional states possibly including Arizona, Washington and South Dakota could have launched legalized sportsbetting services in the meantime. The group stated that this growing availability is to be complimented by ‘increased fan enthusiasm’ with a full 25% of Americans now more excited than previously about gridiron football action.

Ascending acceptance:

Bill Miller serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the AGA and he proclaimed that sportsbetting has become ‘more popular than ever among Americans’ and that the increasing fervor ‘highlights the remarkable growth of the industry over the past three years’. He went on to declare that this success will soon allow approximately 111 million residents of the United States ‘to wager safely with regulated sportsbooks in their home states rather than with the predatory illegal market.’

Read a statement from Miller…

“Fans are the heartbeat of professional sports and leagues like the NFL are realizing the full potential of sportsbetting to drive fan engagement. To capitalize on this tremendous opportunity, the NFL and its 32 teams must also realize their responsibility to educate fans and promote responsible gaming.”

Online surge:

The American Gaming Association disclosed that its own research found that 21% of gridiron football fans in ‘the northeast’ of the United States are interested in potentially placing a wager on this season’s NFL action followed by 18% of their compatriots in ‘the west’, 17% of aficionados in ‘the midwest’ and 15% of those located in ‘the south’. It furthermore forecast that roughly 43% of all these upcoming bets at about 19.5 million will likely be lodged over the Internet, which would equate to a season-on-season rise of some 73%, while casino-based sportsbooks could experience a 58% boost to around 10.5 million punts.