Online betting on the rise as US hits $172 billion gambling spend in 2024

A new report totals a gambling spend of $172 billion in the United States in 2024, marking a 3.3% year-on-year increase.

The increase in the market is largely due to digital gaming, according to research conducted by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. Although commercial and tribal casinos still make up the majority in regulated markets, coming in at 56% together, and retail lottery trailing behind at 22%, the rising star is online betting – even if it’s not quite at the same level as more traditional forms of gambling. That includes mobile sports betting, online casinos, poker, and iLottery.

The report highlights double-digit percentage increases from 2023 to 2024, the largest upticks across any other gambling disciplines. For example, online sports betting grew by 34%, online casino and poker games by 29%, and online lotteries by 26%.

However, there’s still a long way for those sectors to go. Online lottery playing still only represents 1% of all gambling spend in 2024, a drop in the ocean when compared to the might of commercial and tribal casinos or even the retail lotteries.

Looking closer into how those gambling spend breakdowns feed into revenue, commercial and tribal casinos accounted for 61% of gross gaming revenue when you discount sports betting. That’s an impressive cut of the pie when compared to the 56% spend, especially when taken despite just a 1% increase for casinos.

Elsewhere, lottery revenue is where 22% of operator winnings come from, just ahead of the 21% from both online and retail lottery plays. This drives home how casino and lottery play is still a heavyweight when compared to online betting in the US. A notable statistic is that in-person betting and play accounted for 85% of gross gaming revenue in 2024, compared to just 15% from online sources. While digital gaming might be on the rise, there’s still a long way for it go before you can truly see it taking over from in-person betting.

Featured image: Midjourney

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