Sports betting is now legal in 38 states plus the District of Columbia, with states raking in $4.33 billion in tax revenue since the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that states could legalize sports betting.
Read on for a breakdown of which states have generated the most tax revenue from sports betting and where gamblers are wagering the most.
Key findings
Key findings
- Overall, states where sports betting is legal have collected $4.3 billion in taxes from sports betting since June 2018.
- New York has generated the most tax revenue from sports betting ($1.46 billion) since the state legalized it in June 2019.
- Sports betting is currently legal in 38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Sports betting legal states and tax revenue
Sports betting legal states and tax revenue
New York has accumulated the most tax revenue from sports betting, some $1.46 billion since June 2019.
Sportsbooks have generated the most revenue from gamblers in New Jersey, $3.27 billion since 2018. While the Garden State has taken in the third-highest tax revenue from sports betting (roughly $412 million), it has the largest disparity between sportsbook revenue and state tax revenue.
South Dakota has generated the least revenue from sports gambling, just $175,954. That’s because sports betting can only occur at seven casinos in the state, those in Deadwood and at tribal casinos, thereby limiting opportunities to gamble.
Investing in sports betting companies
Cashing in on the sports betting boom
Sports betting is now a mainstay, with ads in legal states hard to miss and odds being discussed on sports media every day. Vermont is the latest state to legalize sports betting, with sportsbooks going live on Jan. 11, 2024.
The value of sports betting handle -- the amount of money gambled -- grew from $4.6 billion in 2018 to $104 billion in 2023, an astonishing rate that reflects America’s interest in wagering on sports.
Competition for revenue from those wagers is fierce between longtime gambling stalwarts, such as MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), and relative newcomers focused on sports betting, such as DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) and FanDuel, which is owned by Flutter Entertainment (LON:FLTR) (OTCMKTS:PDYP.Y).
Revenue from sports betting, however, is just a fraction of what’s wagered. In 2023, companies managed to pull in 9% of the $104 billion wagered, roughly $9.3 billion.
That equation hasn’t changed significantly since 2018, when sports betting revenue was 7.2% of what was wagered that year. While sports betting companies are making more based on the growing amount wagered, they have somewhat struggled to grow their revenue as a percentage of the handle.
If you’re looking to invest in the industry, The Motley Fool has seven ideas to get you started investing in sports betting stocks. With sports betting legal in more than half the states in the U.S., it’s an industry many are willing to wager on.
Sources
- Sportshandle.com (2024). “Legal US Sports Betting Revenue, Handle And Tax Totals Since PASPA Repeal.”
