Revenue from the US online gambling market is expected to reach $23.3 billion in 2024. This predicted revenue consists of $9.65 billion for online sports betting, $7.65 billion for casinos, and $5.74 billion for lotteries.
As more people engage in online sports betting and casino gambling, the average revenue per user for the year is expected to be $350.80. However, in some states, online casinos and sports betting are not permitted, making it harder for the gambling industry to progress nationally.
We will examine the current position regarding online sports betting, casino games, and lotteries more closely and identify which states are generating the most market revenue.
Currently, there are seven states in the US where people can play at websites like these online casino sites listed by Wikihow. New Jersey was the first state to legalize online casinos, followed by Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and most recently, Rhode Island, where games went live in April 2024. In addition, Nevada permits people to play poker online.
User penetration in the online casino market is expected to be 10% in 2024 and 14.2% by 2029, when there will be around 74.6 million online casino users in the US. These figures may increase if states like Maine and Maryland continue their efforts to legalize online casinos and are successful.
Moving on to sports betting, a recent survey by Albany’s Siena College and St. Bonaventure University in Western New York found that 39% of Americans bet on sports like football, and 19% have an online sports betting account.
While the numbers of sports bettors vary, this significant interest in sports betting exists across the 30 US states where the activity is currently legal. These states are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Sports betting is also legal in Washington DC.
The lottery is another popular form of online gambling in the US. User penetration figures for lottery games in the country are expected to be 3.6% in 2024 and 4.2% by 2029. Currently, online lottery games are legal in the following states: Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. They are also legal in Washington DC. User penetration expectations will increase if lottery play is legalized in other parts of the country.
Online gambling is lucrative. As of September 2023, the states where online casino gambling is legal generated $16.3 billion in revenue, according to the American Gaming Association. New Jersey was the leading contributor to this figure, with revenue of $6.91 billion since November 2013. Other state revenues were $4.34 billion in Pennsylvania from July 2019, $4.1 billion in Michigan from January 2021, $615.3 million in Connecticut from October 2021, $294.7 million in West Virginia from July 2020, and $59.1 million in Delaware from November 2013.
These figures are only part of the story, as the varying taxation levels between states result in the following tax revenues for the same periods: $1.83 billion in Pennsylvania, $1.03 billion in New Jersey and Michigan, $88.4 million in Connecticut, $44.2 million in West Virginia, and $19 million in Delaware.
There is no imminent sign of an expansion in the number of states providing online gambling in the US. If changes do happen, they are more likely to involve states offering online sports betting. However, discussions around online casinos in states like Maine and Maryland are far from over, and there is every chance that they make moves to legalize in the future.
