Is cricket popular in Nevada? That’s like asking if slot machines and casinos are popular in Nevada. Cricket is an incredibly popular sport that has attracted a great deal of attention from both American gamblers and American sportsbooks. In this article, we will look at the game, how it has become a staple in sports betting, and why the game itself hasn’t quite caught on with American players.
Quick Lesson On Cricket
Cricket dates back to the 16th century when it was first played in southeastern England. The game is of a bat and ball variety where a total of two teams of eleven players try to score against each other. The field of play is a 22-yard long pitch with two sets of wickets, one at each end. Each wicket consists of two small bails that are carefully balanced on three narrow stumps. Cricket balls are “bowled” or thrown at the opposing team which hits them with a heavy wooden bat. Scoring comes from runs and there are several variations to the game. Men and women compete, but not together or against each other with leagues in place for both genders.
Cricket And Sports Betting
Cricket is the second most popular sport on the planet following football. Estimates put the fan base of cricket in the neighborhood of 2.5 billion worldwide. The sport continues to be extremely popular in the United Kingdom, India, and Australia. As for sports betting, cricket has proven to be worthy of attention in Nevada and is a good betting option at sportsbooks across the nation. For an example of how cricket has become a well-known sports betting option, there are several different types of cricket online betting apps available to assist beginners and more seasoned cricket fans on who is playing, what the current betting odds are, and updated scores along with streaming matches for live in-game betting activity.
Why Cricket Has Not Taken The US By Storm
As popular as cricket is for gamblers across Nevada and the rest of the US, the game itself is largely invisible in the country. Sure, at one point, back in the mid-1700s the game was established in the United States where cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Hartford had teams and leagues that regularly hit the cricket pitch with matches throughout a complete season of play. By the 1800s, there were over one thousand active cricket clubs in the country that spanned over 22 different states. It looked as though cricket had finally taken a foothold in North America. However, interest waned at the time of the Civil War only to be replaced by that other well-known bat and ball game called baseball. Baseball became the game of choice with soldiers and was chosen as the patriotic, American sport.
Cricket On Television and Elsewhere In The World
Trust new technology to bring back something like cricket. One such example is television. With the introduction of 24-hour news and sports channels in the United States in the 1980s, content was required to maintain the promise of providing sports action around the clock from all over the world. Cricket became one of the sports that proved to be as exciting to watch on TV as it was to view live. It wasn’t long before international cricket matches became regular parts of the broadcast day for sports channels like ESPN. It is through the exposure these media outlets provided the sport that cricket once again became popular in the United States.
The Unconstitutional Sports Act
Things took a surprising turn in 2018 when the Professional and Amateur Sports Act of 1982 came under fire from the Supreme Court of the United States. The court found the document to be unconstitutional. Bringing down the sporting act paved the way for sports betting where the federal government left it up to each state to decide whether or not to introduce sports betting. Although in 2022 there are still fewer than half the states in the US that have legalized sports betting, the ones that have are experiencing revenue streams that did not previously exist.
Many of the states where sports betting is legal have earmarked gambling revenues for infrastructure improvements which are improving the post-COVID economies of these states. The opening up of sports gambling in the US permitted non-traditional sporting events the opportunity to be viewed and used for gambling. Cricket, which has gambling ties that are well-known in India and other parts of the world, is just different enough from other typical betting sports to attract interest.
Official Cricket Leagues In The US
Professional cricket dates back to 1965 with the founding of American Cricket which eventually faded due to lack of interest and the growth in popularity of American football and baseball. However, a revival in 2017 saw the creation of USA Cricket. The highest-paid professional cricketers earn about $160,000 per year. Compared to the $550,000 to $35 million a professional baseball player earns in the major leagues, it isn’t hard to see what sport is getting all of the attention from sponsors, fans, and more. That said, Major League Cricket was formed in 2019 to expand the reach of professional cricket in the US. USA Cricket has joined forces with strong industry partners to establish a T20 professional cricket tournament in the US. It will be a huge move forward in gaining ground with sports fans throughout the country seeking games to watch and wager on that are unpredictable, fast, and entertaining.
Final Thoughts
Cricket is a very popular sport. It has an interesting history that isn’t as extensive within the United States. With technology advancing to where specialty sports channels were created, followed decades later by the internet and sportsbooks, cricket started to gain attraction once more. As for gambling, cricket is one of the most popular sports in Nevada and all other gambling venues throughout the United States. The fast-paced action and top-notch international players make cricket worth watching and betting on. It will never reach the popularity level of baseball or football, but it will gain some ground as long as bookmakers keep setting odds on cricket matches.
