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Sportsbooks brought home $13.71 billion in revenue in 2024, the American Gaming Association (AGA) said in a news release on Wednesday, Feb. 19. That was up 25.4 percent from 2023.
Americans legally bet $147.91 billion on sports, a 23.6 percent jump from 2023. More than 95 percent of those wagers were placed online, continuing a trend that has made mobile betting the dominant force in the industry.
New York remained the top sports-betting market with about $2.09 billion in revenue, up 23 percent from 2023. Illinois overtook New Jersey as the second-largest sports betting market but both states posted $1 billion in profits for the first time.
Pennsylvania ($782.1 million) and Virginia ($685 million) respectively had the fifth- and sixth-most revenue in 2024. In seventh place, Massachusetts saw a huge 38.8 percent increase to $670.7 million in revenue.
Maryland had the eighth-highest revenue with $635.7 million, up 23.7 percent from 2023.
"The sustained growth of legal gaming is a win for our industry and the consumers and communities we serve," said AGA CEO Bill Miller. "Every dollar of gaming revenue fuels jobs, investment, and economic growth—reinforcing why the legal industry’s expansion is so important."
The economic benefits to the states come with a different price: a rise in gambling addictions. States like Massachusetts, Ohio, and Kentucky have reported significant increases in calls to problem gambling hotlines since the legalization of sports betting.
While sports betting is expanding, traditional casino gambling remained a major player in 2024. Atlantic City remained the country's largest market outside of Las Vegas, generating $2.84 billion, which was actually down 1.7 percent from 2023.
Baltimore-Washington, DC, followed closely in fourth place overall with $2.1 billion in revenue and a slight 0.6 percent yearly increase. In the New York City area, Queens/Yonkers posted one of the strongest gains among major gaming hubs, rising 2.5 percent to $1.58 billion.
In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia casinos made $1.34 billion in revenue and the Poconos collected $932.58 million, although both figures were slightly down from the previous year. In Massachusetts, Boston also saw a slight decrease but remained in the top 20 nationally with $751.9 in revenue.
Resorts World New York City retained its title as the highest-grossing commercial gaming property outside Nevada for the second year in a row. MGM National Harbor in Maryland and Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts rounded out the top three.
As of February 2025, sports gambling is legal in 38 states and DC. North Carolina and Vermont were the latest to join the market, bringing in a combined $605.6 million in their first year.
Missouri is poised to be the next state with legal sports betting after voters approved legalization in November 2024.
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