US Online Casino Industry On The Brink Of Expansion According To Industry Experts

Sports betting has been rapidly growing in the United States, with online casino gaming not far behind. As reports have shown, the potential tax revenue and growth happening in the online casino market in the US is staggering.

Last week, during the East Coast Gaming Congress, many executives of various online gaming technology companies discussed the potential growth the iGaming could face in the coming years and how the sports betting infrastructure would allow for streamlined development. 

Creating legislation for regulation and building gaming servers takes casinos time to build. With the development of sports betting in the US, many companies have already made some of those first hurdles that often sets back operators. 

State Legality

Currently, online casino gaming is only legal in six US states. Sports betting is legal in some way in 31 US states, with more on the way. 

However, online casino gaming operators are working with a much higher rate of return than sportsbooks. The potential for revenue for the company and the state with online casino gambling far outweigh sports betting revenue in most cases. With the online casino industry still so young in the US, it’s no wonder why so many people see the potential in it.

“The growth in this industry is still in its infancy stages in the US,” says David Rebuck, the Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. 

Since the 2018 US Supreme Court decision to allow US states to determine whether they want to legalize and regulate sports betting, online casino operators have made billions of dollars. New Jersey’s legal gambling market was the first in the US, launching over nine years ago. The state’s casino operators have generated $4.79 billion since launching. Pennsylvania launched in July 2019 and has generated $2.47 billion in revenue. Michigan launched in January 2021 and has already broken the $2 billion mark. States like Michigan are growing quicker than PA’s and NJ’s markets. Michigan online casino hit the $2 billion mark 11 months faster than PA and 63 months faster than NJ. 

So why hasn’t online casino gaming grown like sports betting?

After the 2018 decision, sports betting spread rapidly throughout the US, with 21 states legalizing online sports betting over the last couple of years. Sports betting (retail and/or online) is legal in 31 US states as of October 2022.

Many believe online casino gaming would grow at a similar rate as sports betting, but that wasn’t the case. 

Many state legislatures were worried about the effects online casino brands would have on traditional brick-and-mortar casinos. They believe sales would drop for retail gambling if online casino gaming was an option, leading to more people out of jobs, among other things. However, the gambling industry has proven this simply is not the case. In most states where retail gambling is established, online casino gaming and sports betting can help boost casino sales overall. It also gives players who wouldn’t visit a traditional in-person casino an option. 

During the East Coast Gaming Congress meeting last week, industry executives discussed the potential for additional states to join the iGaming scene soon. The panelists were led to share that they believe Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and New York could be next to legalize online casino gaming. 

Jeffrey Millar, Evolution Commercial Director of North American Operations, stated that “[he’s] confident there’s plenty of room for growth” in the iGaming industry. 

With 44 US states waiting to cash in on the tax revenue from online casino gaming, there certainly is still a lot of room for growth in the US. 

Mac Daniel is a Michigan native and freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit: playonlinemichigan.com