By Anthony Washington, The Fresh Toast
They are considered vice industries – but the mainstream public love them. But which is bigger?
Vice industries have always made lots of money. Alcohol, porn, gambling, marijuana and tobacco. Alcohol is a fully legal and is an over $300 billion industry in the US and Canada. Pornhub, the top site in the category, always ranks high in search – usually in the top 10. But two are new to the mainstream market, so which legal industry is better marijuana or sports betting?
Sin City is has a big hand in both industries. Gambling, which is different than sports betting, is the backbone of the Las Vegas….but sports betting and marijuana have made big marks. The Westgate is home of Superbook, the the largest sportsbook in the world. With their famed video wall, you can watch, bet and enjoy a fully stocked bar, cocktail service, and plenty of food options. It is also home to marijuana Planet 13. It is the world’s largest cannabis dispensary, a 115,000-square-foot entertainment complex with dining, a bar, shops, light-sabre-battling robots and an immersive glass-fronted production facility. Soon Cannabition, an interactive, immersive environment will be open as part of the complex.
Sports betting emerged after the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court verdict finding the federal government’s Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) to be unconstitutional. Until then, the law mandated states could not “sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize by law or compact” sports betting. Now the market for such activity is starting to open up.
When Indiana first opened sports betting, the site saw state saw nearly $440 million in wagers, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission. And all of this cash was generated, too, without making much change to the current infrastructure. The state and business owners are making money.
In 1996, California became the first state legalize medical marijuana legislation with the Compassionate Use Act. Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2014. In 2018, Canada went legal. Now over 50% of the US population has access to legal marijuana and states with fully legal weed release more revenue from cannabis than alcohol. It has become so popular, it is cutting into the beer industry.
So who is better in the growing industries? Marijuana was a $30 billion industry in 2023. While the same year, Americans wagered a record $119.84 billion on sports betting which translated into $10.92 billion in revenue. So the cannabis industry is currently bigger. Want to bet if it stays the same or changes?
The Fresh Toast is a daily lifestyle platform with a side of cannabis. For more information, visit www.thefreshtoast.com.
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