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- Industry
- Geography
The Supreme Court's decision to strike off PASPA in 2018 changed the iGaming landscape in the US forever. Under the PASPA Act of 1992, only Nevada could provide fully-fledged sports betting services.
Post-PASPA, more than 30 states now permit sports betting in-person, online or both. What's more, at least six states allow online casino gambling:
In states where both sports betting and online casinos are legal, the local governments collect hundreds of millions of dollars in tax income. What's more, the total annual revenue surpasses a billion dollars, money used to enhance infrastructure, education, healthcare and create jobs.
To paint a clear picture of how iGaming has been impacting the US, let's take a look at the figures generated by states where nearly all forms of online gambling are legal.
Delaware, and West Virginia legalized online gambling much earlier than Michigan. Yet, neither of these states is yet to hit $1 billion in the iGaming industry.
Michigan achieved that feat last year after generating $1.3 billion in revenues and $3.7 billion in the betting handle. The Great lakes State authorized mobile betting in December 2019.
However, the first sportsbook in the state opened its doors in March 2020. Of course, this was during the onset of COVID-19, meaning MI didn't really generate money from the industry in 2020.
After pandemic-related lockdowns derailed Michigan's iGaming sector, the state legalized online gambling in January 2021. In the next 12 months, bettors in the state wagered so much money that the state collected nearly $300 million in tax income.
Tax revenues from online gambling operators in Michigan total 19%. However, the money is shared between the state and the city of Detroit, where three major casinos in the state are located.
Nevada has been competing for the neck to neck with New Jersey since 2018. Last year, the two states had multiple months with more than $1 billion in revenues from gambling businesses.
Nevada hit the $1 billion mark for 10 months in a row, culminating in total revenue of $13.45 billion in 2021. For clarity, this was more than double the income generated in 2020, the year nearly all casinos shut down due to the pandemic.
Now, most of the gambling revenue in Nevada came from brick-and-mortar casinos. Still, to be clear, 64.6% of sports bets in Nevada were made through the web.
That means lots of gamblers in Nevada are in support of mobile betting. Unfortunately, the state has been against iGaming in the past, except for online poker and sports betting.
The days when New Yorkers had to visit New Jersey to gamble online might be over. This is after the Empire State commercialized mobile betting, welcoming a handful of sportsbooks to offer their services online in the state.
According to fortune.com, New York is on pace to become the biggest market for legalized sports betting in the country. This after recording over $1 billion in betting handles during the first four months of this year.
New York recorded $1.6 billion worth of bets in January, $300 million more than New Jersey's best-ever performing month. In light of that information, the Empire State is on pace to become the biggest iGaming market in the country. And it does not permit online casinos yet.
The Keystone State legalized online casinos in 2019. Yet, after two years, the new industry is worth $4.83 billion. The enormous growth of online gambling in Pennsylvania is no accident.
2021 was a great year for casinos throughout the US. In fact, March was the best performing month for the gambling industry in years. Casinos generated $14.35 billion in March, the best ever quarter for the sector.
Compared to New Jersey, Pennsylvania has fewer iGaming operators: 16 versus 30. Also, it has higher taxes: casinos pay up to 54% of their profits from slots as taxes. On the other hand, betting sites in PA part 36% of their income to the state as tax.
That said, many of the iGaming operators in New Jersey also operate in Pennsylvania. This means gamblers in the Keystone State play the same high-quality slots and table games their counterparts in NJ play.
After legalizing mobile betting in 2018, it took six months for New Jersey to generate $1 billion from its online gambling industry. Then the figures began to rise: the Garden State recorded a betting handle of $5 billion in 2019.
Last year, NJ's iGaming sector skyrocketed. September became the first month for gambling sites in the state to record a betting handle of over $1 billion in a single month.
The companies set a new record in October with a betting handle of $1.3 billion. The industry also surpassed $1 billion in December, closing 2021 with a handle of $10.9 billion. This was nearly $5 billion more than 2020.
What's the secret behind NJ's success in the iGaming sector? For starters, the state is home to some of the largest gambling operators in the world. Think of Golden Nugget, Borgata, Caesars and BetMGM. All these companies have licenses to operate in the Garden State.
Another reason NJ has been successful in iGaming is because it permits nearly all forms of gambling. Unlike Nevada, where only sports betting and poker are legal online, the best NJ online casinos provide slots, poker, blackjack, roulette, craps and sports betting.
These companies also provide generous welcome bonuses to players to both new and existing customers. Bonuses aside, NJ benefits from its close proximity to New York. More than 20% of gamblers in New Jersey live in New York.
New Jersey is presently the biggest online gambling market in the US with annual betting handles of over $10 billion. Pennsylvania often ranks second. But with the emergence of Michigan, New York, and Nevada, NJ is about to get some tough competition.
In case you're wondering, the iGaming markets in Delaware, West Virginia and Connecticut are pretty small. Still, legalizing online casinos has been a boom for gamblers who live in these regions.
