Online sports betting is a rapidly growing market across the United States. The reason for this growth is two-pronged. Firstly, the number of states that have passed legislation legalizing the pastime is increasing, and secondly, the interest from sports betting enthusiasts is continually expanding.
The ongoing success of mobile sports betting is mirrored by the success of online casino in the USA, and it is further evidence that millions of players are ready and waiting to sign up with the leading legal providers as and when legalized routes present themselves.
Where Is Online Sports Betting Legal in the US?
It’s a common refrain and a Google search query that is attracting more and more attention, where can you bet on sports online in the US?
There is now full access to online sports betting in 23 states, and they are as follows.
Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.
In many states, laws have been passed, but the process of completing the regulatory steps is ongoing. Similarly, there are states where bills have been introduced and are awaiting legislation to pass.
Milestone States
It’s a pretty complicated state of affairs, and there is a lot of red tape involved, but there is a growing sense that when larger states join the club, there will become an increasing groundswell of action, leading to a likely stage where most of the United States would be legal.
California, Texas, and Florida are seen as key players, and each of these is well on the way to the end game on the matter. Indeed, in terms of Florida, it did look as if the relevant statutes would pass, but this is once again on hold.
The Most Successful Sports Betting States
If we take a look at the most recent numbers available, in relation to the size of the sports betting handle, the biggest state by some distance is New York.
The Empire State legalized online mobile sports betting in January, and in December 2022, the total handle was just over $1.6 billion, with upwards of 95% of this being conducted by mobile.
Second behind New York is New Jersey, a state where legal sports betting has been in operation for a lot longer, and they hit a mobile handle of just under $1 billion for December, and they are followed in the third spot by Pennsylvania, which had $700 billion in sports betting for December.
Interestingly, the next highest figure comes from Tennessee, where the handle was entirely mobile-based as there are no brick-and-mortar casinos or sportsbooks. Indiana, Louisiana, Iowa, Connecticut, Illinois, and Nevada round out the top ten states in terms of sports betting handles for the month of December 2022.
The sums of money made by these states in the form of taxation are huge, and that is a significant motivating factor when it comes to the relevant parties agreeing on allowing players to place sports bets within their borders and in all likelihood, this will lead to more and more states getting in on a slice of the action.