Legalized gambling will cause a huge financial windfall for the four major U.S. sports leagues: the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA. A new report from Nielsen Sports puts the figure well into the billions a year.

Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association, which commissioned the survey, said:

The four major sports leagues will earn a collective $4.2 billion from widely available legal sports betting, further proving that working together with the gaming industry will pay dividends for all sports stakeholders. Legal sports betting will also create substantial opportunities for state and local economies, generating tax revenue, jobs and supporting small businesses across the country.

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Some of this money will come from marketing by betting organizations, and in many cases advertising. Beyond that, the report’s authors claim revenue will come from “greater fan engagement and viewership.”

The NFL could benefit most with a yield of $2.3 billion. The benefit to the NHL could hit $216 million. The Nielsen number is $425 million for both the NBA and MLB.

The figures are based on a survey with a small sample:

On behalf of the American Gaming Association, Nielsen Sports conducted a custom survey of 1,032 U.S. 18+ adults, representative of census age, gender, geography and ethnicity, from May 15 through May 31, 2018.

With a slowing of fan attendance rates and peaking TV audiences, it is good news, whether entirely accurate or not.

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