New Jersey Continues to Lead the Way
New Jersey has been the sports betting leader since 2018. Its handle of over $53 billion is the highest in the country, leading to over $570 million in tax revenue.
While the Graden State has continually led, their reign at the top is likely coming to an end. New York’s retail sports betting has exploded over the last couple of years. Retail sports betting has been live since 2019, but online betting didn’t launch until 2022. The state still has an overall handle of over $49 billion, nearly erasing the head start their neighboring state previously had.
Nevada is third with a handle of over $41 billion, followed by Illinois ($37 billion), Pennsylvania ($31 billion), and Colorado ($19 billion).
Rapid Growth May Not Continue
As impressive as the country’s sports betting numbers have been, things will likely cool off over the next two years. One reason for that is that only a few states remain without some form of legal sports betting. Many of those face massive opposition, which is unlikely to change any time soon.
There is also a significant push for far stricter regulations for the industry. Congress is currently considering the SAFE Bet Act, which would completely change how sports betting is regulated. Several states have also begun taking action to curb a spike in problem gaming. The current bill is unlikely to pass, but more proposals are likely to follow.
FanDuel and DraftKings Continue to Dominate
The sports betting industry has seen several big brands launch sportsbooks over the years, but none have found a way to compete with FanDuel and DraftKings. The industry leaders own well over 80% of the US market share, leaving little room for new platforms to compete.