How Much is Gambled on Online Games Annually in the US?

The US gambling market has exploded in recent years, thanks largely to the widespread legalisation of sports betting across more than 30 state jurisdictions.

In fact, since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) in May 2018, Americans have wagered a staggering $125 billion on sports betting nationwide. 

With some states also offering access to the best online real money casino betting, it’s little wonder that the US market has boomed to become one of the fastest growing globally.

But exactly how much is gambled on online games annually stateside, and what does the future hold for this burgeoning marketplace?

Striking Down PAPSA and the Rise of Sports Betting

It was the state of New Jersey that challenged the PAPSA 1992 legislation in the Supreme Court, with the landmark judgement paving the way for individual state jurisdictions to make their own decision on the legality of sports betting.

Since this day in May 2018, two-thirds of all US states have legalised sports betting, with California, Maine and Utah among the 14 jurisdictions that have no legislation pending at all. 

As we mentioned earlier, some $125 billion has been wagered annually on sports since May 2018, with most of this capital having been staked during the last two years in particular.

For example, last year saw Americans wager an impressive $57.22 billion on sports, with this figure up by 165% when compared with the previous year. Of course, 2020 saw the sports betting market impacted negatively by the coronavirus pandemic and event cancellations across the globe, but the stark hike in 2021 highlighted just how much the market continues to grow on a large scale.

In fact, much of this growth was due to the initiation of seven new state betting markets in 2021, with every niche (except for Delaware) recording record levels of betting throughout the year.

This was borne out by recorded betting levels on individual sports events. For example, ESPN reported that the 2022 Kentucky Derby saw an incredible $179 million placed in bets, with this up by 17% when compared to the previous year.

According to the American Gaming Association, an estimated $7.61 billion was bet on the Super Bowl 56 by 31 million people nationwide.

Of course, it can be hard to accurately estimate the precise volume or value of wagers placed on this stellar global event, but we do know that record-breaking activity was recorded in 2022.

Factoring in Online Casino Betting

Of course, both on and offline casinos also generate huge amounts of cash for gambling industry in the US, with combined slot and table yields totalling approximately $45 billion in 2019.

This revenue has continued to increase incrementally too, peaking at a staggering $14.31 billion through Q1 in 2022 according to the AGA. This represents a brand new first quarterly record in the industry, beating the $14.35 billion set during Q1 in 2021.

March alone saw an impressive $5.31 billion drawn in, with this established as the highest-grossing revenue month in the history of the industry.

Now, the online casino sector is relatively small when compared to mature markets in Europe and the UK, with the practice only legal in six states (namely Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, West Virginia and Pennsylvania). Because of this, the US comprises a relatively small percentage of the global iGaming market, which peaked at $66.7 billion in 2020.

However, this value is expected to more than double to $153.6 billion by 2030, as the online casino market in the US continues to mature and more players are able wager across a broad range of states.

To provide some context, iGaming revenues in the state of New Jersey soared by a staggering 38.6% year-on-year to $130 million in February. While this figure fell just short of the record $137.8 million set in January of this year, it highlights the growing popularity of online casinos and individual platforms like the Borgata.

Interestingly, Borgata ranked first in the iGaming sector with revenue of $37.8 million, just ahead of Golden Nugget Online Gaming ($34.6 million) and Resorts Digital ($29.0 million).

As with all mature and burgeoning markets, online slots dominated the sector by driving a total GGY of $127.7 million. Online poker accounted for $2.2 million of revenue, suggesting that players have clear preferences when it comes to how they spend their hard-earned cash.

Clearly, the rise of sports betting has driven a dramatic increase in terms of how much is gambled by players in the US since May 2018. 

While online casino markets have yet to grow at the same pace stateside, there’s no doubt that Americans are wagering more each year while this trend is set to continue for the foreseeable future at least.