In the US, the entertainment market is simply massive. Whether you’re looking at the domestic box office or live sports, entertainment is big business across the country. Forever evolving and adapting, the whole scene has seen many new entrants in recent years. Since 2018, iGaming has been trying to win over the American public.
Impressively, iGaming is already a colossal sector. It’s making billions in the US. Or rather, it’s making billions in just seven states. Already, the US is primed to overtake one of the most storied iGaming markets in the world. So, just how high is the sector flying right now, and what’s behind its success?
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In 2018, changes to the regulatory landscape allowed states to choose whether they would set up online and land-based sports betting and iGaming sectors. The seven that did have discovered a thriving sector, though. In the most recent American Gaming Association report, iGaming was up 34.1 percent year-on-year. That amounted to $758.4 million in one month (October 2024) in seven states combined.
The increase in iGaming revenue seen in Delaware was the most significant. After a change to the state’s iGaming partner, revenue surged by 585.5 percent. From January 2024 to October 2024, iGaming revenue hit $6.79 billion. For the year, it’s expected to easily average $1 billion per state. With its growth rate to that date being 27.9 percent, the Yogonet Gaming News forecasts had the US surpass the storied, $7.5 billion iGaming market of the UK.
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Elsewhere in the world, iGaming has had to evolve through competition. It’s grown from a nascent entertainment sector predominantly in Europe into a major entertainment industry. Coming to the US, brands could have started slow. With a reeled-in offering, there would be an obvious path to grow and improve without needing to invest or innovate. Instead of that, iGaming settled right into the US with each platform striving to offer the best it could from the outset.
This is most clearly demonstrated in the bonuses. As shown by the list and rankings from the New Casino Bonuses providers, there’s a huge range of welcome offers available to US players. Some like the Play $1, Get $100 are new for the US market. Others, like the $25 no-deposit bonuses, are a reflection of the most popular bonuses overseas. Even more novel bonuses can be found. A clear example of this is the 24 hours of losses, up to $500, given back.
Past the welcome bonuses, platforms also wrangled their best offerings from other more seasoned markets. On any given platform, you’ll find a whole host of progressive jackpot games, branded slots, and live casino games. Branded games have been distinctly Americanized in these efforts. One platform offers table, slot, and instant win games branded by the New York Jets, NBA, New York Rangers, NHL, New York Knicks, and UFC.
By bringing its best modern offering, iGaming has been able to thrive instantly in the US. Better still, the sector has adapted to appease American players, powering its continued growth to over $7 billion.
