The State of Online Gambling in the USA in 2021
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The online gambling industry is growing at an annual rate of 11.6%. New Jersey is the biggest market for online betting businesses in the country.
The Wire Act of 1961 banned most forms of gambling. In 2011, the DOJ clarified that the Wire act of 1861 banned racketeering and not online casinos. Delaware and New Jersey legalised online gambling within two years. Pennsylvania and West Virginia followed. New York and Illinois wanted to legalize online casino gambling, while Chris Christie wanted the US to permit sports betting. Since 2018, states have the powers to regulate both online gaming and sports gambling websites.
Some states permit both casinos and sports betting. A majority of jurisdictions permit sports gambling alone.
Pennsylvania legalised online casinos in October, 2017. The cost of acquiring a license to start an online casino in Pennsylvania starts at $10 million.
New Jersey is the biggest market for online casinos in the US. The state has over 20 casino sites that generate up to $5 billion per year. 80% of this revenue comes from mobile gamblers. New Jersey has a flat tax rate of 8% for all casino games.
Delaware was the first state to legalise online casinos in the US. It has three online gambling casinos compared to NJ's 30 and PA's 12. Delaware taxes the businesses 62.5% of their annual revenues.
West Virginia legalised online casinos in 2019. More than five operators have acquired licenses to provide gambling services in the state.
Some states in the US are reluctant to legalise online casinos, but they swung into action immediately after the Supreme Court empowered them to regulate sports betting.
Nevada was never affected by PASPA. Nevada has some of the world's biggest casinos. Since 2015, some casinos have also developed apps that allow sports betting online.
The State of Online Gambling in the USA in 2021 will be NJ, PA, WV and DE. All the states that permit online casinos also support sports betting. West Virginia legalised both activities with the same bill in 2019.
New York legalised sports betting in 2019. Gov Andrew Cuomo tabled a bill to permit online betting.
Iowa joined the list of states with legal sports betting in 2019. Governor Kim Reynolds signed the law mid-August.
Illinois legalised sports betting in March 2020. The law allows investors to setup betting shops close to stadiums and at designated areas. It also supports mobile betting with the exception of wagering on minor leagues and in-state college competitions.
Washington, D.C. introduced legal sports betting in June 2020 through a state-run app. The app has been performing as expected due to poor odds, constant crashes and mismanagement.
Tennessee allows four companies to provide mobile sports betting only. Brick and mortar casinos are prohibited from providing sports gambling.
Some states are taking longer to legalise sports betting. They include Wyoming, Nebraska, Louisiana, South Dakota and Maryland. A few more states have already table bills to legalize the industry. However, the bills are yet to be signed into law. Utah, Idaho and Wisconsin are the only states with no plans to legallyise gambling at all.
