The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the overall gambling industry and on the global level. This also started reshaping the gambling industry in the United States as well. Las Vegas, which was a symbol of gambling and well known Mecca for avid gamblers suddenly closed its doors.
Suddenly, many gambling establishments and lottery outlets were closed and the sports betting industry stand frozen because all the sporting events were postponed
Back in 2020, the market value of online gambling had reached USD 2,178.29 million. With the fast adoption of the online casino, we witnessed a migration to the digital world. Since people were locked at home, the only place where they could get any sort of entertainment was online.
Some interesting stats about gambling in the USA
We’ve picked some interesting stats about gambling popularity all around the USA:
- Gambling is omnipresent in the USA, but only in different forms. Most gambling is legalized in all 48 states. The only two states that strictly prohibit gambling in any form are Hawaii and Utah.
- Back in 2010, 25% of Americans older than 21 years had gambled in brick and mortar casinos in the last 12 months.
- At least 85% of Americans have gambled at least once during their lifetime while around 60% have gambled during the previous year.
- When it comes to eSports players, during the last year they earned over 7 million.
- It is forecasted that US eSports enthusiasts and viewers will surpass 45 million during the next year.
As seen above, online gambling, betting, casinos, and eSports are gaining huge traction.
Different states, different rules
While some states were more relaxed with regulations, some remained strict about not considering online gambling. Thanks to New Jersey which won in the Supreme Court – any state can legalize betting. The first legal sports bets in New York were placed in 2019.
Nevada is the best example of a regulated gambling industry because of its very long history and other states could learn a lot about rules and regulations. You can enjoy online casino games in states such are Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. The state of Michigan now has a full-featured and regulated online gambling and casino market. Since Jan 22, 2021, players can play on reputable online casinos in Michigan. For the rest of the states – it seems that they will soon learn to go with the flow since the demand on the market is constantly growing.
Pennsylvania is the fastest growing market in the USA
Here’s a surprise – Pennsylvania was the fourth state that smiled upon online gambling legalization. Pennsylvania owns two regulating organizations that monitor all the gaming and lotteries are the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the Pennsylvania Lottery.
Back in 2017, Pennsylvania had gross revenue from its casinos of amazing USD 3226.92 million. With the launch of online gambling back in 2019, things continued growing tremendously – the companies were forming various partnerships to cover the growing demand for online casino platforms. The only flaw is that taxes for online gambling are incredibly high. Yet it hasn’t stopped a further expansion and seems like the others soon will follow.
