The US gambling industry continues to grow and the online side of the business has been achieving some highly impressive results. There are also great figures being recorded by the US video game industry. A Eilers & Krejcik Gaming report has shown the total gambling spend in the US last year was a massive $172 billion. That was an increase of 3.3% when compared to the previous year. In regulated markets, land-based casinos (commercial and tribal) account for 56%. Mobile sports betting online casinos and poker sites all saw percentage increases of at least 10% when compared with their results in 2023.
Online sports betting has seen huge growth in the US in the past seven years. 2018 saw a US Supreme Court Judge ruling that allowed individual states to decide whether or not to legalize gambling. Over 30 US states have now gone down the legalization route.
In 2024, Vermont and North Carolina both launched online sports betting. This helped that section of the US gambling industry to grow by 34% last year. Online casino and poker play also saw a large increase, going up by 29%..
The report also showed that the five-year compound annual growth (CAGR) for the online side of the US gambling industry is also very promising. An increase of 96% has been forecasted for online sports betting and 74% for online casinos and poker sites. That’s compared to a forecast of 8% growth for video gaming terminals.
2025 has already seen the online gambling industry make a strong start. Online sports betting revenue handle has climbed by 12.4% to $25.77 billion with the gross revenue for operators totalling $2.52 billion, up 19.6%. The Super Bowl again produced excellent figures for the online sports betting industry.
In terms of online casinos, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all saw revenue grow by double-digit figures in the first two months of this year. In Pennsylvania, gross revenue was $524.5 million, up 31.3% from the same period last year. $470.7 million was recorded by Michigan (up 27.2%).
New Jersey’s figure was $429.4 million and that was 17.4% higher than in the corresponding period last year, according to New Jersey Betting Sites (NJBet). February however saw revenue decline for the second successive month with earnings of $207.8 million. It was not too concerning though as the online casino industry had achieved a record figure of $228 million in December 2024.
That total made it six months in a row in which the revenue figure had been one of at least $200 million. It was also the second successive month in which online casinos in New Jersey recorded a higher figure than the land-based casinos in Atlantic City.
New Jersey reached its peak in December, recording a record of $228.0 million in revenue. The industry is aiming to get back there once again. For the second straight month, online casinos topped Atlantic City casinos.
There has also been growth in West Virginia and Connecticut where online casinos have also been legalized. Both states have seen double-digit revenue growths achieved in the first two months of the year.
The US video gaming industry has also seen steady growth taking place. In recent years, a key reason for this has been the arrival of fifth-generation consoles and free-to-play games. A CAGR of 2.4% in the past five years has seen revenue for the industry reach $107.6 billion in 2025.
Microsoft made several acquisitions last year with Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media both being added to their impressive portfolio. The market size of the US video gaming industry is expected to see further growth in the next five years. This period will see more mobile game investment being made by companies.
The video game industry is one that does not like to stand still for any period of time. Further advances in technology and consoles are inevitable and the industry’s growth will be aided by a higher level of smartphone penetration.
The advancements made in the mobile phone industry are helping the video game industry just as they are for gambling. Being able to play games or place bets on such devices has been fueling the growth that is being seen in both industries.
Regarding the video game industry, consumers will have more access, especially those in developing countries and all of this will help maintain the boom that is being seen in mobile gaming.
The future looks bright for both the online gambling and video game industries. A fascinating time lies ahead for players with more technological advancements and increasing numbers around the globe enjoying playing their favorite games and trying to get some good wins.