Two Elon professors served as panelists for "Betting on the Region: Sports Betting's Impact and What Comes Next" event.
Two School of Communications professors, Dave Bockino, associate professor of sport management, and Bill Squadron, assistant professor of sport management, teamed up with John Tobias, UNC Charlotte lecturer and program director for the sports analytics certificate program, to explain the history and future of sports betting in the United States and its impact on the Charlotte region. Over 50 members of the Charlotte community attended the event. Elon Chief Integration Officer and Executive Vice President, Jeff Stein, gave the welcome and alumna Cara Verwholt ’08, vice president of performance marketing at NASCAR, moderated the panel.
Legalization has reshaped markets across North Carolina, and the sports betting landscape continues to evolve. Bockino, Squadron and Tobias impressed upon the audience that this wasn’t just a sports story, but it’s actually a business, data, and policy story, too. The panelists explored the industry’s economic impact, regulatory environment, and the growing role of data and analytics. They spoke about consumer trends and fan engagement and answered questions from the audience about the NCAA’s role in sports betting and how taxes on sports betting could be used to support community areas like K-12 public education.
“It’s always fun to talk about sports betting with people from a variety of industries,” said Bockino. “This is a growing industry that affects not only amateur and professional sports but education, finance, and tourism, and I appreciate the opportunity to connect with Charlotte’s leaders across all these sectors.”
“Sports betting is having a major impact and has a lot of elements that people don’t always see,” said Squadron. “Elon’s bringing together the Charlotte community to discuss it was a great opportunity to explore all the different pieces of this growing area.”
Elon University Charlotte will hold future events with the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. Interested in learning more about sports betting? Bockino will be releasing a book on the topic on June 2.