U.S. Legal Sports Betting Industry Hits Milestone $100 Billion Handle Mark for 2023
The U.S. legal sports betting industry is on fire... to say the least. Many of our best sportsbooks are enjoying the growth.
This week, the year-to-date handle for U.S. legal sports betting providers eclipsed the $100 billion mark, with a slew of states yet to report their November handle figures and with December numbers still to come.
New top-tier jurisdictions have been added to the American sports betting family in 2023, including Florida, Ohio, and Massachusetts, and betting activity in existing states has been increasing, to the delight of sportsbooks and the tax revenue programs supported by the industry.
The national $100 billion handle plateau was reached in 11 just over months. That milestone hasn't been hit before. 2022 was the previous best year for the U.S. market, with nearly $93.8 billion in wagers for the total year.
$100.7 billion so far in 2023
America's total sports betting handle reached $100.6 billion, with Pennsylvania's record $934.1 million in bets reported just this week.
That number is already 7.2% better than the total handle from 2022, with December figures from all sports betting jurisdictions and a few November revenue reports still to come.
It is easily a yearly record for the five-plus years of legal sports betting in America.
Expanded family, better overall activity
A host of states has helped the U.S. legal sports betting industry set the new national handle record. Participating jurisdictions have surpassed $500 million in wagers for a single month 74 times in 2023, and 14 states have seen at least one month with a half-billion in wagers.
Again, none of December’s figures have been added in, and we are still waiting on several November revenue reports.
Five new sports betting states were born in 2023: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, and Nebraska. That number is six if we include Hard Rock Bet's launch in Florida.
New York was by far the biggest contributor to the overall U.S. legal sports betting handle for 2023. The Empire State had its first $2 billion monthly handle in October and has been responsible for about one-sixth of the overall sports betting activity that has taken place in the broad U.S. market this year.
New Jersey remains second on that list and is coming off its best month — a $1.6 billion monthly handle from November.
October produces $12.2 billion
All states, except for Arizona, have now reported their total wagering activity from October. To nobody's surprise, the American market set a monthly record of overall wagering activity with $12.2 billion in accepted bets in October.
That figure is a 25.5% year-over-year increase from the same month in 2022.
According to the American Gaming Association, October was its third-best month ever in gross revenues, as $5.6 billion came from sports betting, slots, and casino gaming.
October also represented the 32nd straight month of U.S. gaming industry growth.
November is expected to be better, with a few jurisdictions already reporting record handles. The totals from last month should extend the streak of $10 billion handle months for the entirety of the U.S. sports betting scene to three months.
