Americans have banked $988.9 billion in wagers across legal online casinos and sportsbooks in the US. It is estimated that the milestone may have been achieved sometime in the middle of May 2024. US Online Sportsbooks have registered a handle worth $324.5 billion from their debut to April 30, 2024. Combined wagers through April 31, 2024, stood at $667.4 billion.
There is a figure for the lottery as well. It has been estimated that eligible Americans spent around $434 in the previous year, 2023. It translates to $113 billion when counting 261 million adults. A difference between holds has been noted in sportsbooks and casinos. An average hold in US sportsbooks comes to 8.4%, while in specific markets, it is common to see a range of 5%-15%.
Online casinos and sportsbooks have faced backlash since they are credited with affecting the revenue of brick-and-mortar venues. However, they have grown to three factors – a wave of expansion, hyped novelty, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online casinos and sportsbooks are expanding across the US, gaining popularity for the convenience they bring to the table. It was essentially the pandemic that boosted their adoption since several physical venues were either down or working with limitations. New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are known to account for the majority of the growth. The number stands at over 60% in terms of legal online wagering.
The first four months of 2024 have seen a growth of 12% year-on-year for sports betting revenue. Growth for online casinos is almost 24%, accelerated since 2023, when the full-year growth was 23%.
Online slots hold the majority of the growth at 4%. Americans are known to engage more with Blackjack at some of the best online casinos USA.
Americans are betting an average of $5 every day. This accounts for those who are 21 years and above. The wagering number does not necessarily reflect spending, for casinos and sportsbooks often return a position to players as winnings.
The growth of online casinos was rather slow from 2013 to 2017, mainly because only two states held the flag: Delaware and New Jersey. The online casino and sportsbook are next expected to reach the milestone of $1.25 trillion by the end of this year, 2024. New Jersey is the highest contributor to the market as it was one of the first states to adopt the offering. However, it could soon be surpassed by Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Connecticut continues to drive the segment as a duopoly with only DraftKings and Mohegan Sun in the house.
Online casinos and sportsbooks continue to thrive as more physical venues express concerns about losing revenue and workforce.
