Legal sports betting handle in the US almost doubled in 2019, reaching $13 billion.
This was revealed in recently-released data from the American Gaming Association (AGA).
Country-wide expansion
According to the association’s statistics, 59% of sports bets were wagered outside of Nevada. Before PASPA was repealed in 2018, this was the only US state authorised to offer this form of gambling. Moreover, seven out of 10 non-Nevadan sports bets were placed online.
Multiple states launched sports betting in 2019, including Iowa and Arkansas. By the end of the year, a total of 14 offered this vertical in some way, shape or form.
Nevada remains king… for now
Although sports betting has expanded across many corners of the US, Nevada still handled the most. In total, $5.3 billion was wagered here – a new annual record for the state.
However, there are signs that it might soon be knocked off its perch. New Jersey wasn’t far behind, with just under $4.6 billion handled. Just like with Nevada, this was a yearly record for the Garden State.
Pennsylvania was third on the list, at $1.5bn.
Some states not included
New Hampshire sports betting statistics were left out of this report, since it only launched its market on 30th December, 2019.
New York casinos and tribal casinos in New Mexico were also omitted from the release. This is because neither of these states release their handle data to the public.
Mississippi and Oregon accounted for
While tribal casinos in neither Mississippi nor Oregon publish their sports betting handle stats, both were included. The AGA’s report found that Mississippi handled $369m in 2019. Meanwhile, $45m was placed at Oregon’s tribal casinos.
Strong overall figures
Since PASPA was removed from legislation, over $17bn has been wagered in legal bets throughout the US. Sportsbooks have made $1.2bn in revenue from this, while $152m has been brought in through taxes.
With regards to tax last year, local revenue reached $118m across regulated states.
