As sports gambling explodes in popularity, squash star Amanda Sobhy hopes attention turns toward her sport

Before the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that legalized sports betting, professional squash player Amanda Sobhy said players were allowed to have their cell phones during matches to communicate with coaches.

After that landmark decision, the rules changed. Not that squash boasts a large betting handle (the amount of money wagered by sports bettors).

“I have never encountered anything remotely close to betting,” Sobhy said. “We’re too nice of a sport.”

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Yes, the U.S. gambling population isn’t likely scrambling online to lay down a wager on squash matches that feature Sobhy — currently No. 11 in the women’s squash world rankings — and another elite opponent. Even if a bettor wagers on a squash event, there are limited types of bets an individual can place. Predicting the match winner is the simplest bet.

But Sobhy said she hopes the tide changes, and that betting enthusiasts will turn their attention to the squash court, too.

“[Squash officials] know that’s a huge avenue to get more eyeballs onto the sport and get more people invested in it,” said Sobhy, 32. “I always say, to make a successful event, you basically need booze and betting. In a lot of events, we don’t have either. It’s a great sport, but when you don’t have people who know about the sport, and they’re trying to get into it, you need something else.”

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Unlike some of her peers in other sports, Sobhy said squash affords a comfortable living — for men’s and women’s players — and that pro squash athletes would not be tempted to earn separate income through illicit gambling schemes, as was the case in the federal indictments unsealed in October, which involved illegal poker games and a prop betting scheme, and which named NBA coaches and current and former players as defendants.

“We’re very lucky as a sport. We are big enough where top players can make a living, and that’s their sole job,” said Sobhy, who resides in Florida after living in Philadelphia for several years after the pandemic. “We get sponsorships, and players can be OK financially. Our association [U.S. Squash] has been adamant for equal prize money in majors. Men and women have an equal amount of tournaments and opportunities. In order for the sport to grow, we need to work together and elevate as equals, rather than profiling only the men.”

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Sobhy, a Harvard graduate who has won six national titles, said her sport is popular with bettors around the globe, but that that interest hasn’t yet translated to the U.S. market, where the gaming industry has partnered with many pro sports leagues in multimillion dollar deals.

“You don’t have big American betting platforms engaged in squash,” Sobhy said. “Europeans and Brits bet on squash. I’m all for betting. You can’t be a cookie-cutter, safe sport, but want the sport to be bigger at the same time. You have to be bold, take risks, be a bit more controversial. You have to elevate the platform to get more eyeballs. If we want squash to become bigger, we definitely need to get betting included.”