While spending on legal sports betting reached brand-new heights in 2023, the rate of development might slow this year in the absence of new states adopting the practice.
Americans bet a record $119.84 billion on sports wagering in 2023, up 27.5% from 2022, according to the American Gaming Association's Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. Those bets translated into $10.92 billion in in 2023, a 44.5% jump from the prior year. The difference in the sum of all bets put relative to earnings growth was connected to a 9.1% nationwide hold percentage last year, up from 8.1% in 2022, according to the gaming market's trade association. The hold describes the portion of cash that a sportsbook or bookie retains after all bets have actually been settled.
The 2023 year-end figures will continue to grow as the American Gaming Association (AGA) noted they do not yet consist of the most recent information from Kentucky and Arizona.
AGA executives attributed the general market improvement to a legal sports betting footprint that has actually expanded to 38 states and the District of Columbia.
The sports-betting market benefited from 5 states becoming functional in 2023: Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Ohio. Together, those five states contributed $1.49 billion in sports-betting earnings in 2015.
Ohio finished the year fourth among the states in regards to sports-betting earnings with $936.6 million. Massachusetts was ninth at $483.2 million.
Legal sportsbooks ended up 2023 on a high note as the 4th quarter drew in wagers of $40.02 billion, up 34.4% from the last duration of 2022. That consisted of bets on NFL and college football, MLB's post-season, and the starts of the new NBA and NHL seasons. Revenue totaled $3.41 billion, up 30.8% from the prior-year duration.
Enactment outlook
The very first quarter of 2024 ought to also produce strong industry revenue, with the AGA estimating that Americans bet $23.1 billion on the 2024 Super Bowl and a brand-new state coming online soon. North Carolina is set to provide online sports wagering March 11, in time for the March Madness college basketball tournaments.
Despite the solid start for 2024, the year will face a hard comparison to 2023. AGA Senior Vice President of Government Relations Chris Cylke informed press reporters Feb. 20 that it is uncertain the number of more states, if any, will sign up with the legal sports betting roster this year.
"Some of them have pretty substantial political challenges in regards to getting sports betting itself enacted," Cylke stated, "When we take a look at the map, there might be possibly two or three states that have some activity and get it throughout the goal this year. There might be zero, which would be frustrating, however that's where we are right now with the progress that we have actually made over the past practically 6 years."
Alabama, Georgia and Missouri were discussed as states that might possibly see legislative motion this year.
AGA Vice President of Research David Forman stated that in the lack of considerable state additions, development in 2024 and 2025 might originate from increased activity in maturing jurisdictions. Forman pointed particularly to 2023 gains made by New Jersey and Illinois. New Jersey legislated sports wagering in June 2018, simply one month after the Supreme Court overruled a federal restriction on the practice. Illinois legislated sports wagering in 2020.
The legal sports wagering market will continue to grow from gamblers moving from illegal wagering outlets and from new customers coming into sports wagering in general, Forman stated.
In 2023, New York signed up a 24.2% year-over-year boost to complete as the state with the highest earnings at simply under $1.70 billion. New Jersey, up 31.9% to $1.01 billion, inched previous Illinois to recover the 2nd spot. Illinois' revenue grew 26.1% to $1.00 billion. Slipping behind Ohio, Pennsylvania was 5th with $686.9 million in earnings, up 15%.
Total gaming
All told, the US commercial gaming market scored a brand-new income record for a third straight year, with each sector publishing their leading mark. The AGA reported that overall profits from land-based gambling establishment video games, sports betting and iGaming reached $66.52 billion for the calendar year, a 10% gain from the previous record set in 2022.
When the National Indian Gaming Commission reports later this year, overall US annual gaming revenue will approach $110 billion.
Collectively, brick-and-mortar casinos pulled a 3.3% gain in 2023 to $49.36 billion from slots and table games, while iGaming, which presently only takes place in six states, registered a 22.9% income increase to $6.17 billion.
Gambling taxes produced $14.4 billion for state and local governments in 2023, according to the AGA, a 9.7% increase from 2022 levels.
Commercial land-based video gaming - encompassing gambling establishment slot machines, table games and retail sports wagering - represented $50.02 billion, or 75.3% of the total revenue in 2023. Online video gaming created $16.43 billion, representing 24.7% of total revenue.
Jurisdictional watch
Among the 35 business gaming jurisdictions that were functional in 2022 and 2023, 31 reported an increase in combined profits from land-based gambling establishment games, sports betting and iGaming. Twenty-eight signed up new yearly records.
Three states - Florida, Indiana and Mississippi - sustained low single-digit decreases in 2023. Washington, DC, which only offers sports wagering, had a 17.6% retraction, the best drop amongst all jurisdictions. Washington is home to the Commanders in the NFL, the Wizards NBA group, the Capitals in the NHL and the Nationals MLB group.
