Watching an NFL game in the United States in 2025 almost always involves two screens. The TV with the game, and a smartphone open on a betting app. In just a few years, what once depended on a trip to Las Vegas or a local bookmaker has turned into a fully mobile experience, with live odds, one-tap cash out, and push notifications serving promos after every big drive.
This shift is not just about behavior; it is about the industry itself. In 2024, commercial gaming revenue in the U.S. hit almost $72 billion, the fourth consecutive annual record, driven largely by the growth of sports betting and online products.
Within that total, the legal sports betting segment generated roughly $14 billion in revenue, with close to $150 billion in wagers recorded by sportsbooks, according to American Gaming Association figures released in February 2025.
At the same time, the smartphone has cemented its role as the official console of this new form of entertainment. Market reports, such as the 2024 study commissioned by Sports Handle, indicate that in many operations, more than 90% of bets are already placed via mobile devices.
From Supreme Court To Smartphone: How The Market Opened Up For Apps
None of this would have happened without the regulatory shift in 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down the federal law that had effectively limited sports betting to Nevada and allowed each state to set its own rules.
Since then, 38 states and the District of Columbia have approved some form of legal sports betting, creating a map in which major sports hubs like New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana now have massive online sportsbook offerings.
That regulatory opening pushed the industry into sprint mode. In a matter of years, virtually every major national operator launched an app focused on mobile experience, integrated loyalty programs, and a heavy presence on sports broadcasts. The result shows up in the numbers.
Legal handle, the total amount wagered, jumped from about $121 billion in 2023 to nearly $149.6 billion in 2024, with sportsbook revenue rising from just over $11 billion to $13.7 billion in the same period.
While brick-and-mortar casinos remain important, American Gaming Association data and reports from consultancies such as Grand View Research show that the real growth engine is increasingly digital channels.
The consultancy estimates that the U.S. online gambling market moved approximately $12.68 billion in 2024 and could reach $22.19 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate close to 10% driven by sports betting and mobile casinos.
In practical terms, that means that for millions of Americans, the first point of contact with betting is no longer a slot machine in a physical casino, but a colorful icon on the home screen of a phone.
When Your Pocket Becomes A Console: Apps, Convenience And The Search For Alternatives
If legislation opened the door, the smartphone rewrote the rules of the game. Surveys show that bettors report low tolerance for physical travel and a clear preference for resolving everything in a few taps. At the same time, access has become extremely fragmented.
A 2025 survey conducted by the Siena College Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University found that about 22% of adults in the U.S. already have an account with at least one online sportsbook, rising to 48% among men aged 18 to 49.
Respondents describe the experience as fun, exciting and something that makes them follow games more closely, reinforcing the idea that betting has moved into the same mental space as other entertainment apps.
As a result, many users do not want to be tied to a single operator. Beyond the locally licensed books in each state, part of the audience continues to look for offshore sites that accept U.S. players, especially when they want more casino games, bigger bonuses or specific payment methods.
This is where comparison guides like Charlie Pearson’s insights on Bovada alternative sites come in. They map platforms tailored to the American bettor, detailing bonuses, compatible digital wallets, and the variety of sports and bet types available.
In practice, the smartphone functions as a hub where state-licensed apps, international sites accessed via browser, and a whole ecosystem of auxiliary services coexist, from stats apps to Discord communities and social networks.
The bettor’s console is not a single dedicated device, but the same phone used to watch highlights, scroll the X feed, answer WhatsApp messages, and track spreads updating in real time.
UX, Data, And Gamification: The Invisible Battlefield Inside The Apps
The design language that dominates these apps is very familiar to anyone who follows the gaming market. Casino and sportsbook apps are leveling up mobile gaming by importing mechanics from RPGs, puzzle games, and traditional free-to-play titles into the betting world.
The experience starts with minimal friction, such as biometric login, sign-up in a few taps, wallets integrated with Apple Pay or other digital payment methods, and dashboards that prioritize leagues, markets, and bet types the user plays most. Then the data layer kicks in.
Industry reports show that operators use machine learning to suggest bets based on each user’s history, build automated parlays around their preferences, and highlight games with higher engagement potential, such as prime-time matchups.
Gamification has also become the norm. Instead of just listing odds, many apps offer levels, achievements, daily missions, and point systems that unlock bonuses, merch, or in-person experiences, mimicking the progression systems of popular mobile games. Studies on this approach suggest that it can boost retention in digital products by creating a constant sense of goals, even when rewards are mostly symbolic.
From the user’s point of view, this makes the line between playing on a phone and betting on a phone thinner and thinner. Between one battle royale session and the next, opening a sportsbook app and building a same-game parlay feels, for many, like just another kind of game with instant feedback.
2030 On The Radar: Where This App War Is Headed
While regulations and criticism are gaining traction, the market shows no sign of slowing down in the short term. Projections from specialized consultancies indicate that the U.S. online gambling market could surpass $22 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
That growth should be sustained by mobile adoption and by the integration of new technologies such as high-quality live streaming, augmented reality features, and AI-powered customer support.
At the same time, opinion surveys and health authority reports suggest that the next major battle between betting apps will not just be over bigger bonuses or faster interfaces, but over credibility. For U.S. users, the 2030 landscape is unlikely to be the end of the war, but rather a new phase.
The phone has already won the hardware battle and become the official console of bettors. What is at stake now is how this ecosystem will be designed. Whether it will continue to copy only the most aggressive retention tactics from mobile games or manage to combine the same level of innovation with a layer of responsibility that matches the size and impact this market has reached in such a short time.