Americans staked $13bn on legal sports betting in 2019
AGA data also reveals more than $17bn wagered on legal sports in the US since PASPA’s repeal
US bettors placed a total of $13bn (£10bn) in legal sports bets during the course of 2019, according to figures released by the American Gaming Association (AGA).
This was nearly twice the $6.6bn handle generated in 2018. Last year was the first full year since the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA in a landmark ruling back in May 2018.
The AGA, which represents commercial and tribal casinos among others, reported that 59% of bets last year were struck in states that legalised sports betting post-PASPA.
Legal sports betting last year raised $118m in state and local tax revenue, the trade body stated.
Since PASPA was overturned, more than $17bn has been gambled on sports across the US, generating $1.2bn in revenue and $152m in local and state tax revenue.
However, the AGA stressed that the proliferation of regulated sports betting hadn’t come at the expense of Nevada; sportsbooks in the Silver State took a record $5.3bn in wagers, eclipsing 2018’s total by $315m.
By comparison, New Jersey, which launched legalised sports betting in the summer of 2018, achieved a total handle across land-based and online sportsbooks of $4.6bn in 2019.
Last month, the AGA suggested that a record 26 million Americans would bet on Super Bowl LIV in Miami, staking an estimated $6.8bn on the clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.