US Sportsbooks Hit $10 Billion In Collective Betting Handle

• At the time of writing, over $10.02 billion has been bet at licensed sportsbooks throughout the country.
• Of that total, $5.44 billion came during 2019 alone, as more states introduce their industries.
• September 2019 – February 2020 will likely see a combined betting handle in the $6 – 9.5 billion range.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With the repeal of PASPA being over a year removed, there were many gambling experts and analysts who expected legal sports betting to take off immediately.

Some estimated that only a few states would be interested in looking to legalize the pastime while others knew the underground market needed to be brought into the light. Regardless of what those with industry knowledge thought, there has been over a full year of legalized sports betting in the country and expectations are not being matched, but rather surpassed.

In the newest revenue report released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, their numbers accounted for the last bit needed to hit a major milestone: $10 billion dollars wagered.

That’s right… since the repeal of PASPA over $10 billion has been legally wagered on sporting events from professional sports like the NFL, NBA, and MLB to the smaller markets like golf, soccer, tennis, and rugby that everybody loves at every legal sportsbook in the country.

Nevada has played a large role in this, who has represented over half of that total ($5.54 billion). However, as more states come to bat and open their own industries, we see the market share moving away from the entertainment capital of the world.

New Jersey eclipsed the mecca of gambling in terms of their monthly betting handle once (May 2019) and has a year-to-date handle only $285.1 million less than that of Nevada’s. For reference, $285.1 million (in New Jersey’s standards) is their average monthly betting handle over the course of the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, other states like Pennsylvania, who recently launched their online betting platforms, have steadily increased their handle even during the “off-season” of betting. Granted, they have yet to collect more than $60 million in betting handle during a month, but the state launched near the end of the NFL season and only had six sportsbooks open leading up to and through the Super Bowl.

From September 2018 to February 2019, over $5.51 billion was wagered legally at the eight states that offered legal sports betting, but this number should be smashed this upcoming season. There are now 11 states that offer the pastime and a handful more are expecting to launch before or during the NFL season.

To date, only two months, regarding all legal sportsbooks, have seen the betting handle break over the $1 billion mark (January and March 2019). However, five other months broke the $800 million level – all of which happened during the professional and collegiate football seasons.

With the development of the industry and the addition of major states like New York joining the mix, it should make it easy to set new records for the upcoming months, football season, and eventually the year.