From $0.9B to $10.9B: Sports Betting Skyrockets in the U.S.

[robelneo]

What do you guys think, is this real momentum or just temporary hype?

This is the sports betting industry, which is considered an entertainment industry, and all that you've mentioned applies to why it's getting the surge.
It will not be considered a temporary hype because the numbers are steadily climbing. Gambling is a different industry with a market to satisfy, and these markets will continue to maintain their numbers as users will continue to gamble and sports organizations will continue to hold events.

[yahoo62278]

Simply legalizing it is all that it took. Now there is easy access from hundreds of apps, people don't even have to leave their couch if they don't want to. The states have finally realized the amount of revenue they will gain from taxes and got the Federal Government to cave.

I think that number probably triple over the next 5-10 years easy. Once the government realizes the tax gains from legalizing marijuana it will be the same way, billions spent each year on it.

[tsaroz]

What do you guys think, is this real momentum or just temporary hype?

This is the sports betting industry, which is considered an entertainment industry, and all that you've mentioned applies to why it's getting the surge.
It will not be considered a temporary hype because the numbers are steadily climbing. Gambling is a different industry with a market to satisfy, and these markets will continue to maintain their numbers as users will continue to gamble and sports organizations will continue to hold events.

This is not just a US thing and the surge is worldwide. There are multiple factors that have fueled the rise mostly already discussed and use of crypto is probably the most important one. I remember back in days making Skrill wallet just to gamble as Paypal and other wallets are either easily limited or not accepted by the casinos. It was difficult to load your Skrill wallet while it was more difficult to withdraw from it as Banks avoided it. Now with crypto, we have multiple options and ways by which we could route or use our crypto which has made crypto betting highly successful.

[Moreno233]

Rhe increase is not only in the US, but it's a global trend and some country are higher in terms of the percentage of their population. The second reason for this could be increase in financial awareness which is why more people are looking alternative ways of earning money for which gambling is one of the easiest way to achieve that if you are careful to discipline and not greedy.

[SUPERSAIAN]

Makes me wonder, what’s fueling this surge? Is it mainly:

* more states opening up to legal betting,
*the convenience of mobile apps and live wagering,
*or nonstop marketing that made betting feel “normal” already?

Big question is, can this growth really last or is the U.S. just catching up after legalization? From under $1B to almost $11B in a few years, that’s huge. If it can happen there, could we see the same worldwide, or will stricter rules and backlash eventually slow it down?

What do you guys think, is this real momentum or just temporary hype?

There's a reason for this massive increase, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone was at home during that time, and we're talking about the years when digital platforms were used the most. So, there was a surge in online gambling platforms. I had no idea there was so much. Interesting statistics. In the examples you gave, another factor is its legalization in many states.

[danherbias07]

This is momentum. It's going to be bigger in the upcoming years.

You are right, sports gambling has become the norm now. In the US, they have their own sports that are supported by their citizens and even those outside their country. NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and more. All of this has a betting line in offshore bookies and their local betting application that is being broadcast on local television like a normal commercial.

Because of the popularity of their games, even international fans are watching them around the world, and I think it will continue unless they have a traditional president who will halt this kind of industry.

[Patikno]

Many people did not go to work during covid-19 lockdown and they know about gambling from there. I am not sure but I read news about that at the time.

Definitely, more mobile phone capabilities to access the gambling site with ease and advertisments are one of the main reasons that people start to gamble. Gambling sites does not use advertisements to joke at all because they know its benefits.

The growth will continue.

It is not just happening in United States but also happening in countries that gambling is allowed.

I completely agree with you. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been forced to work from home (WFH), and this has driven people to engage in online activities. So, I think this has fueled the growth of gambling. At that time, people began seeking online entertainment, and legal gambling was one such medium. However, I believe gambling is also growing in countries where gambling is not allowed. For example, my country has seen a growing gambling trend since the pandemic, despite the government banning it.

Here are some sources that can be used as reference : tirto.id - The Indonesian National Police Revealed That Online Gambling Has Been Rampant Since the Covid-19 Pandemic (I translated the main title, and the rest we need translation)

Let me give the translated part :

"Since the pandemic, gambling has been restricted in its movement. Normally, in the Mekong region, there are SEZs ( special economic zones ) that allow gambling operators to open one-stop entertainment venues with government facilities," Krishna said in a press conference at the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit Building, South Jakarta, Friday (June 21, 2024).

He explained that, from that momentum, the bookies expanded their operations to other countries. The SEZ itself is located in the Mekong region, between Laos and Myanmar.

"It was developed to America and they recruited the operators," said Krishna.

[Slow death]

The marketing that gambling companies have done has been very strong to the point of attracting the attention of many people, knowing that nowadays people use smartphones a lot, which allows them to place bets from their phones and wherever they are, so it was inevitable that these numbers would rise a lot and quickly and the tendency will be to continue rising, because people will always be seeing some casino or betting house being advertised somewhere and will be curious to create an account and play.

[peter0425]

I was checking some stats and this one really caught my eye. In 2019, legal sports betting in the U.S. only made around $0.9B. Fast forward to 2023, and it already hit $10.9B in revenue. That’s more than a ten-fold jump in just four years. Total wagers? Over $119B placed by Americans last year.

That’s a pretty crazy jump. You’d think that the first number was recorded 50 years ago. It makes me wonder if they have hit the ceiling or is there more room for them to rise up. What else can they do in like the next 5 years?

Makes me wonder, what’s fueling this surge? Is it mainly:

* more states opening up to legal betting,
*the convenience of mobile apps and live wagering,
*or nonstop marketing that made betting feel “normal” already?

I believe that convenience of online betting has made this possible not to mention that during the pandemic, all people did was try to find entertainment and that’s what they got from gambling.

[Richbased]

Many people did not go to work during covid-19 lockdown and they know about gambling from there. I am not sure but I read news about that at the time.

Definitely, more mobile phone capabilities to access the gambling site with ease and advertisments are one of the main reasons that people start to gamble. Gambling sites does not use advertisements to joke at all because they know its benefits.

The growth will continue.

It is not just happening in United States but also happening in countries that gambling is allowed.

The COVID-19 lockdown really made many people addicted to gambling because since people were no longer going out to work, they switched to gambling everyday as a source income, those who don't work from home precisely got more addicted to gambling so i agree with you that many people were engaged in gambling during the lockdown since they could access gambling sites at the comfort of their homes using phones and personal computers. Of course gambling sites takes promotions seriously that is why even after gaining popularity they still continue. Take stake.com for example, they are big already but they keep the promotions going from year to year.

From what am seeing it seems the US has the highest rate of gamblers in the world and i don't think these guys gambles with what they can afford to lose, they mostly go all in. A lot of them even use their houses and most of their properties to stake bets and they don't even care the aftermath.

[Mindyspace]

In my view, this figure should be much higher in the US, as Las Vegas is a global benchmark for casinos and gambling. Furthermore, events like the Super Bowl attract significant media and publicity. Therefore, I consider this figure to be low given the significant potential this market has there.

[Agbamoni]

OP Alani123 was right. The stats are old stats.

Currently In 2024/2025, Americans have placed nearly $149 billion on legal sport betting across regulated sportsbook in the US. Every year the rate at which people go into gambling increases with huge differences.

[r_victory]

It was to be expected; the sports betting market is large in the United States, at least that's what I see in some casinos and websites I visit for tips and other information. The NFL and NBA probably account for most of this revenue. I believe it will continue to grow exponentially.

[maydna]

Making money could be the reason why the income gambling sector increased. People see gambling as their way to make money because they can place a bet on sports. They are familiar with sports and the players and all things of that so they think that they can make money from gambling.

The convenience of mobile apps and live wagering will be another reason why people gamble. But we should remember how Covid attacked almost all of the world where people could not go everywhere. That makes them use online to do many things, including playing gambling.

This could be the real momentum for the gambling sector to grow more than this. We may see an increase in the gambling sector in the future. And with the development of technologies and the Internet, that will help the gambling sector.

[crwth]

This is definitely rapid growth for sports betting, with more than 1000% increase, and it's likely caused by boredom during the pandemic, when many people had time to read and search the internet.

That's where the need of the income comes in and they would probably search "potential side income" "part time" then they would be advertised with gambling ads like in major sport events.

The easier access makes the potential of people more. PLUS, the invention of prediction sites like Polymarket makes it more exciting.

[CryptoHeadlineNews]

I was checking some stats and this one really caught my eye. In 2019, legal sports betting in the U.S. only made around $0.9B. Fast forward to 2023, and it already hit $10.9B in revenue. That’s more than a ten-fold jump in just four years. Total wagers? Over $119B placed by Americans last year.

Yes, it true that the more newly launch casinos we have,
as time goes on, the more people are likely to be aquinted to it and the number of gamblers increased over time, which is exactly what happened between these few years ago within the United States, and likewise same everywhere. Because even in my country,  today we have more gamblers than last year, because just as the economy keeps getting worse, whereby people not having jobs or the ability to carter for their basic needs, gambling always tend to be the last hope, as they play, hoping to get lucky someday, which sometimes don't usually happens, because gambling is a game of luck.  

[boyptc]

* more states opening up to legal betting,
*the convenience of mobile apps and live wagering,
*or nonstop marketing that made betting feel “normal” already?

Big question is, can this growth really last or is the U.S. just catching up after legalization? From under $1B to almost $11B in a few years, that’s huge. If it can happen there, could we see the same worldwide, or will stricter rules and backlash eventually slow it down?

What do you guys think, is this real momentum or just temporary hype?

I think the ease of access made the industry there to grow. And also about it catching up for a longer time, it might decrease a bit but as long as the numbers are there and above a billion dollars, it won't be stopped anymore.

A slowdown might happen when tighter rules have been implemented. While this is good for the regulators there as the tax will also skyrocket.

But the counterpart of it which is more gambling addicts are found, they might react onto that.

[Dave1]

I was checking some stats and this one really caught my eye. In 2019, legal sports betting in the U.S. only made around $0.9B. Fast forward to 2023, and it already hit $10.9B in revenue. That’s more than a ten-fold jump in just four years. Total wagers? Over $119B placed by Americans last year.

It's obvious that this is one of the off shot of Covid, lot of online sports bookies emerge and when people are at their home doing nothing and can't go out but still wanted to follow their favorite sports and bet on it, then the numbers grew tremendously. So there should be no surprises here, and for sure this numbers are going to continue with the emergence of social media as well.

There are a lot of of called big whales or infuencers showing their bet online and maybe encouraging others to bet too. So overall, it's a healthy growth and maybe in the next four years it will be more than ten-fold the way I see it.