Americans Love Sports Betting, Polls Say

Americans love betting on sports, despite the practice being more restricted than in Europe.

In fact, around half of the approximately 118 million Americans aged 16 or older have placed a bet on sports in the past year, according to a recent poll by leading sports network ESPN.

While this takes into account illegal betting, 48 US states do allow some form of gambling in their jurisdictions, with only two - Utah and Hawaii - outlawing the practice entirely.

Further evidence of the American love for sports gambling is that they spend an estimated $300 billion each year on legal and illegal sports betting - which is only slightly less than the United States defense budget and more than the gross national product of Switzerland.

It has also been well documented that online betting is increasingly becoming a preferred choice for sports betting. The many Las Vegas online sports books take in huge amounts of bets on major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, and lately - NCAA basketball's March Madness.

Another event that is sure to see large amount bet is the US Masters which begin on Thursday in Augusta, Georgia. The fact that Tiger Woods will be competing in his first major since leaving professional golf after the giant scandal over his infidelity will only encourage gold fans to put money on the event.

Woods will begin the tournament as favorite (he is currently hovering around the 9/2 mark at most sports books) but will face stiff competition from all the other big names, including South African Ernie Els.