AGA: Regulated igaming in US on upward trajectory at 10-year marker
Gambling industry trade group has tracked over $16bn in revenue since first online casino launch in November 2013
The sports betting market in the US routinely grabs headlines, but regulated igaming has quietly been around since 2013 and has amassed some formidable growth figures despite its limited scope, as chronicled by the American Gaming Association (AGA).
With November 2023 marking the 10-year anniversary of New Jersey’s inaugural igaming launch, the AGA has released new data highlighting the rise of regulated online casino in the US, which has generated over $16bn in aggregate revenue despite only being available to roughly 13% of the adult population.
To date, six states – New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut and Delaware – currently offer full-scale igaming while a seventh, Rhode Island, is in a pre-launch phase.
In total, igaming operators have combined to generate $16.32bn in total gross gaming revenue (GGR), which has given way to more than $4bn in tax payments back to the aforementioned states.
Of the six, Pennsylvania boasts the most robust market, having accounted for $1.83bn in lifetime tax revenue. New Jersey ($1.035bn) and Michigan ($1.032bn) are neck and neck for the second spot, with the notable exception being Michigan didn’t launch igaming until January 2021.
Michigan is emblematic of the staggering pace at which regulated igaming market has expanded in the US, exemplified by revenue growth of 865% between 2019 and 2022. For context, the EU and UK markets – albeit already mature – grew by 48% during the same time period.
As for 2023, US igaming states had netted $3.94bn in revenue through August, a 22.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase.
One of the goals of legalizing online casino was to rein in the black market, but that has only been moderately successful as Americans are still wagering $338bn annually with illegal operators – a byproduct of the still limited reach of legal options – which is nearly three times as much as the regulated market.