Sports betting study finds Nevada leads in handle, but other states growing fast
US market topped $4 billion in wagers in January, building on success of 2020.
Sports betting is booming in the United States, with several states quickly establishing impressive totals of dollars wagered within months after opening their markets despite dealing with a pandemic.
That was the message from Vegas Slots Online News, which released the results of its sports wagering study Wednesday.
The research noted that since PASPA was repealed in 2018, 21 states have introduced sports wagering and many state legislatures are preparing legalization efforts.
The study’s authors cited American Gaming Association figures showing US bettors in January wagered more than $4 billion in a single month for the first time. The AGA said total gaming revenue for Q1 2021 was $961.1m.
Vegas Slots Online News said it calculated each state’s average monthly handle by dividing total handle by the number of active sports betting months. To determine the number of bettors, it amended the sum of core and casual US betting consumers from each state’s adult population according to the relative popularity of sports betting indicated by Google Trends.
The study then divided average monthly handle by the estimated number of sports bettors per state to determine the average monthly spend per bettor, the company explained.
Nevada, which has the most mature market, came out on top. Its post-PASPA wagering handle of $14.52 billion yielded an average monthly spend per bettor of $434.40. That was more than double New Jersey’s $216.18.
“The remaining top states, though newer, are already looking promising,” the study’s authors said in a statement.
Colorado did not launch sports betting until May 2020, at a time when many sports were shut down by the pandemic, but bettors have wagered $2.08 billion, an average of $159.71 per bettor per month.
Virginia, where sports betting has been active for three months, and Tennessee, at five months, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Virginia bettors average $129.63 per month, 14% higher than Tennesseans at $113.31.
Illinois is “making a name for itself,” the study said, as it has reported $3.6 billion in wagers in just 12 months. The state narrowly missed a top five spot at $111.01 per bettor per month.
The study noted Pennsylvania has the third-highest betting handle at $6.77 billion, but when it came to monthly spend per bettor, this mature market averaged just $23.40, in part because of its population of nearly 13 million.
Similarly, bettors in Michigan wagered $990.9 million in nine months, but the monthly average per bettor was $65.93, well behind the top five.
The study termed sports betting “a rare success story for the US gambling industry” in 2020.
“The post-pandemic return of sporting events saw mature markets hit monthly betting handle highs alongside fresher ones,” the authors wrote. “With six additional states currently preparing for launch and lawmakers in another 14 considering active legislation, the possibilities for a reconfiguration of the top five betting states list are endless.”
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