The online sports betting market in the United States is a very interesting one. Unlike sports betting in other countries, it is decided on a state-by-state basis and is not legislated on at a federal level. This means that the sports betting markets of each state that has legalized it can look very different.
In this article, we will cover the states that have legalized online sports betting.
Nevada
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $3.75 Billion
Online Percentage: 57.1%
Market Leader: William Hill
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino & online operators
Restricted betting types: None
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Consumers have to register in person for a mobile sportsbook account.
Unsurprisingly, the state with the longest-running sports betting market in the US has made a considerable amount of money from sports betting. Online sports betting was legalised in 2010 to compete with the in-person physical sportsbooks.
Now that the pandemic has hit and many places have shut down, William Hill, the market leader in online sports betting, and others have contributed to online sports betting bringing over half the total handle.
New Jersey
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $5.02 Billion
Online Percentage: 93%
Market Leader: FanDuel/Pointsbet
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, racetrack & online operators
Restricted betting types: In-state collegiate teams and events
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
New Jersey is a major success story for online sports betting. They legalized their sports betting market in 2018 and quickly became the top state in the US for sports betting. New Jersey does not require in-person registration for online sportsbooks. This reduces the barrier for entry. Many would have been put off if they had tried to sign up online and were directed to a physical location.
The market leader in New Jersey is FanDuel/PointsBet. The two companies have partnered with the local license holder Meadowlands and therefore their revenue is shared. The most popular option for online bettors is the FanDuel sportsbook.
Pennsylvania
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $3.03 Billion
Online Percentage: 89.8%
Market Leader: FanDuel
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, racino OTB & online operators
Restricted betting types: None
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
Much like New Jersey, Pennsylvania launched their sports betting market in 2018 and since the launch, it has exploded in popularity. The state is a major focus for online sports betting companies. The market leader is FanDuel with DraftKings coming in at a close second.
Pennsylvania has no restrictions on betting on college games, be they in-state or out of state. This can capitalize on the intense fan communities that spring up around college teams.
Rhode Island
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $164.0 Million
Online Percentage: 44.7%
Market Leader: William Hill
Authorized Operators: RI Lottery through commercial casinos & online
Restricted betting types: In-state collegiate teams and events
Age Requirement: Must be 18+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
Rhode Island also legalized sports betting in 2018 but unlike the previous two states, their markets have not exploded in popularity quite so much.
There are only two sports betting licenses in the whole state, and they are both owned and operated by William Hill. That gives the company complete market share. They also have the highest tax on sports betting operators, a huge 51%. Despite their high taxes, Rhode Island is one of the few states that allow betting from the age of 18 rather than 21.
Indiana
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $1.46 Billion
Online Percentage: 83.5%
Market Leader: DraftKings
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, racino, OTB & online operators
Restricted betting types: No prop bets on collegiate events
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
The sports betting market in Indiana was legalized in September 2019. One year later and they were posting record highs, surpassing $200 million for the first time in September 2020.
They have also committed a portion of the money raised by the state from taxes on sports betting to go towards a fund to deal with the issue of problem gambling.
The market leader in the state is currently DraftKings. There is danger for the online sportsbook. William Hill has recently signed a multi-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, showing their interest in the state.
Iowa
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $470.4 Million
Online Percentage: 69.1%
Market Leader: William Hill
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, tribal casino & online operators
Restricted betting types: Prop betting on in-state collegiate teams
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Until Jan 2021, customers of online sportsbooks must register in-person to open an online sports betting account.
Much like Indiana, the sports betting market in the state was legalized in 2019, and in the Autumn of 2020, when many of the major US sports were back in action, they recorded their highest profits.
The market leader for the state is William Hill. It is expected to encounter a lot more opposition once the restriction on in-person account registrations ends this year. The pandemic has reduced the number of new customers willing to go to a physical location to sign up for online betting.
Illinois
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $942.1 Million
Online Percentage: 92%
Market Leader: BetRivers
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, racetrack, sports arena & online operators
Restricted betting types: In-state collegiate teams
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Consumers have to register in person for an online sportsbook account.
Illinois legalized its sports betting market in March of 2020. Players who wished to bet online still had to register in person so for many months, betting operators could not onboard any new players.
Despite the onboarding issue caused by the pandemic, we can look to the future and see that with the wide variety of authorized operators in the state (sports arenas) there will be many attractive looking choices for the consumer.
This gave BetRivers their sizable market share. They still remain on top but now that restrictions have been eased, many other operators are beginning to chip away at their hold on the state.
West Virginia
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $291.8 Million
Online Percentage: 77%
Market Leader: DraftKings
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, racino & online operators
Restricted betting types: None
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
West Virginia legalized its sports betting market in September 2018. There are four major operators in the state, William Hill, FanDuel, BetMGM, and the market leader, DraftKings. Despite being partnered with the same license holder, The Greenbrier, FanDuel, and BetMGM still could not overtake the hold that DraftKings has on the state.
West Virginia has committed the funds raised by the state from taxes towards efforts like; lowering retiree premiums, to help reduce benefit cuts, and to help reduce premium increases.
Colorado
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $901.2 Million
Online Percentage: 98%
Market Leader: DraftKings
Authorized Operators: Commercial casino, tribal casino & online operators
Restricted betting types: Prop betting on all collegiate events that are not sanctioned by the relevant sports league.
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
The Colorado sports betting market launched in May of 2020 and unsurprisingly a huge percentage of sports betting has come from online. They have seen an increase in sports betting every month since they launched. DraftKings is currently the top operator in the state.
Oregon
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $218.2 Million
Online Percentage: 100%
Market Leader: DraftKings-SBTech / Oregon Lottery
Authorized Operators: OR Lottery through kiosks, retailers & online; tribal casino operators
Restricted betting types: Lottery: All collegiate teams and events
Age Requirement: Must be 21+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of the Lottery’s online sportsbook are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
Oregon legalized its sports betting market in October 2019. They have a complicated system. The state only allows bettors to wager online through one app, Scoreboard, which is a partnership between the Oregon Lottery and SBTech.
So, it stands to reason that they are the market leader. However, due to an unfortunate deal with SBTech/DraftKings, the Oregon Lottery has ended up losing money.
The nature of the deal has benefited SBTech but if it continues to look like private companies are trying to outmaneuver and beat the state government, it could spell danger for online sports betting in the future.
Washington DC
Total sports betting handle for 2020: $63.8 Million
Online Percentage: 20%
Market Leader: GameBet
Authorized Operators: DC Lottery online; stadium & online operators; other brick and mortar facilities outside a 2-block radius of stadiums
Restricted betting types: In-district collegiate teams and events
Age Requirement: Must be 18+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of the DC Lottery online sportsbook are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
Much like Oregon, DC only allow sports betting through a government operated app. Washington DC allows bettors to wager online through GameBetDC, an app operated by the DC Lottery.
This backward thinking way of offering online sports betting means that they have one of the smallest percentages in online sports betting. They are being out classed by the currently only land-based William Hill.
The funds raised by the state go towards early childhood education and violence prevention programs. If they want to improve their funding, it stands to reason that they should expand their online sportsbook offerings.
New Hampshire
Total sports betting handle in 2020: $240.9 Million
Online Percentage: 85%
Market Leader: DraftKings
Authorized Operators: NH Lottery through online and retail agents
Restricted betting types: In-state collegiate teams and events
Age Requirement: Must be 18+
Betting Account Registration: Customers of online sportsbooks are not required to register or fund their accounts in person.
The state currently only has one online sportsbook. DraftKings maintain a 100% market share of the online sports betting industry in the state. They also make up 85% of the total sports betting in the state.
They are also one of the few states that allow betting from the age of 18.
