The gambling market in the United States has been growing in the past few years. The first state to legalize online gambling was Nevada (only for poker). This trend continued with Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Delaware.
Although the process has been slow thus far, there was a significant increase in the online gambling activities during 2020. This was a result of the pandemic and the closure of a lot of land-based casinos.
In New Jersey, for example, sports betting hit a record of $900 million. The sports betting industry in this state hit an all-time record in 4 consecutive months. The numbers show that online gambling activities are becoming more popular and more importantly – bring a lot of tax revenue.
According to industry insiders, the iGaming market in the U.S. will continue to expand. If more states legalize online gambling, this can help them recover from the devastating economic hit by the pandemic. In the next few years, probably half of the states may have legalized the activity. Furthermore, the online gambling is a more convenient method of play, as retail gambling is not widely spread in the U.S.
However, this is not the case in Nevada, where land-based casinos are everywhere, especially in Las Vegas.
Why Nevada fears to further legalize online gambling activities?
If Nevada initiates and expands iGaming, many of the operators fear that their revenues would be impacted by the change. The location and easy access to physical facilities is the most beneficial point for local businesses. However, this might change if the state permits gaming.
Nevertheless, the results from the past year show that the igaming industry in the US is ready to expand. Which will be the next state?
