It could be argued that if any business or market were going to see a significant rise in the United States of America, it was always going to be the iGaming industry.
With the slow, but steady introduction and relaxation of gambling laws within many of the states over the past few years and with so many still to allow it, it is not a surprise to see it boom and reach levels that many other business sectors would have found rather difficult to achieve.
Naturally, there are a number of different reasons as to why astronomical figures have been achieved and why the iGaming industry has risen to the size it has within the US market, which is why we have outlined a few below in detail.
Legislation
As mentioned, there are a number of US states that are starting to accept gambling and have taken action to legalize it in a way where it is not exploited.
New Jersey was one of the first states to seek a change and legalizeiGaming within their borders, as they saw how well Nevada was doing with Las Vegas and believed that it was time for them to provide the east coast with something similar. They had a bill pass in 2019 that allowed specific activities to be legal, whilst they have continued to work hard to introduce further legislation to allow for other forms of betting to be accessible within the state.
Other states to have followed them include the likes of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Colorado and Indiana – with the Kindred Group having already made their presence known with sites such as their Unibet Sports Indiana being made available. There are plans for more to be added, but the process of legislation has been a slow, gradual process.
Other states have decided to think upon legalizingiGaming within their borders, with the likes of California, New York, Massachusetts and New Mexico amongst many to have considered it, perhaps down to the knowledge that the iGaming industry was said to be worth $6.5 billion in 2016; a figure that had grown to $7.2 billion in 2017.
It has been estimated that last year (2020), the US online gambling market size reached a total worth of $66.72 billion, with it projected to grow up to $74.17 billion by the end of 2021. This estimate only includes the states that are currently legal, so it has all the potential to increase further, should more states start to open their doors to the iGaming industry in the near future.
A surge in iGaming popularity
There is no doubt that there has been a surge in popularity in the United States of America recently in regards to sports betting and iGaming, with many showing a positive trend to games and wagering on sports events that take place.
Of course, there have been places such as Las Vegas (as well as the failed Atlantic City) that have attracted plenty from around the country (and the world) to gamble at the physical casinos that they offer, whilst it has also opened up the eyes of other states as it has allowed them to see just how popular an activity gambling is and how it could impact their economy in a positive way.
Still plenty of opportunity for US market growth
Naturally, with the iGaming industry already having gone on to achieve a significant rise in the US market that is hard to compare to any other experience, it would be wise to think that there is still plenty of room for more growth to happen.
As mentioned, there are still a number of highly-populated states – such as California and New York – that are considering legalizingiGaming, whilst the states that have already allowed for it have proved incredibly popular.
By opening up the sector in more states, potentially more and new bettors will be able to access their favorite iGaming markets, place wagers and bet on the action, thus allowing for the US economy to grow at a time that could be crucial.
It has already been revealed that the 2021 US market share size is expected to be worth up to $74.17 billion and that is only likely to increase further in the near future, especially if those aforementioned states join in with the likes of Colorado, Michigan and Indiana.