How the US is Basking in the iGaming Boom

How the US is Basking in the iGaming Boom

16:16 21 July 2021

If a law regarding an activity millions of people are keen to enjoy is relaxed, there is sure to be a boom in that activity. This applies to iGaming in the United States and following the relaxation in the laws surrounding online gaming, the numbers of people legally playing online casinos games and sports betting in the US has increased.

 

There were plenty of people who were already playing online games using offshore casinos, but it is difficult to include them in the data as this was not as easy to track. However, in terms of legal iGaming, the numbers of people playing basically started from zero and we have seen a huge growth in a market that did not exist until a few years ago.

 

The US moved to allow each state to decide whether they want to allow online gaming and sports betting. Therefore, there are still some states in the US which do not offer legal iGaming but there are new additions all the time, as states begin to pass legislation to allow online sports betting and casino games.

 

Nevada has long been established as a mecca for iGaming but other states across the country are beginning to catch up thanks to the changes in the laws. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Delaware, Mississippi, Michigan, West Virginia, New York, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Oregon, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Montana, and Colorado are just some of the states to legalise some form of iGaming in the past three years.

 

With the global online gambling market believed to be valued at over $92.9 billion by 2023, it is easy to see why the United States has made a move to legalise iGaming in the country. One of the many reasons why it has become so popular is due to the fact it generates money for the country through online gambling tax. People do not feel as though they have simply thrown their money away if they lose when gambling online, as some of it will be going back to the community.

 

As with any new product, there will come a time when there is a dip in sales or revenue. iGaming numbers are proving steady in Indiana but there was a dip in June compared to the figures from May. This was mostly from online sports betting and the betting handle for June was $246.4 million, showing a slight decrease of 3.2% from the figures in May. The end of the NFL season and March Madness did not help and it is more of a case that fans did not have such a wide choice of events on which to bet, rather than people being turned off online gambling altogether.

 

People continue to enjoy playing at online casinos in Indiana and this is reflected in the overall taxable revenue for June, which came out to $25.5 million in comparison to $18.9 million in May. The start of the 2021 NFL season will help to drive the online sports betting revenue up, especially in Indiana as fans back the Colts. This is likely to apply to many of the states across the US as the new NFL season begins and the iGaming boom is set to continue in the country, especially as more states move to legalise online gambling.