Assessing How Much a Potential Regulated Californian Online Gambling Market May be Worth

Across the United States, online gambling is becoming more and more prominent. With the decision to regulate online sports betting and casino gaming put in the hands of states, many dove straight in. Now, there are just over a handful offering a fully open and regulated online gambling scene, while most run a functional online sports betting sector.

So, those states that are yet to dip a toe into this new realm of entertainment have plenty of sources and data points to draw from when weighing up whether or not to regulate a gambling scene. California is a colossal market, home to more major league teams than anywhere else in the country and, of course, Hollywood. Yet, its place in the industry is uncertain, to say the least.

State of Play Across the USA

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Online casinos are popular in many states. Helping this has been the willingness for brands to enter markets with extensive offerings that mirror, and even build on, the veteran providers in Europe, and drawing from their marketing techniques. As an example, online casinos across the US will offer welcome bonuses, and to compete, those bonuses will range from $25 on the house with a $1000 match to a bet $1, get 50 spins and $150 offer.

As the bonus listings detail, online casinos are available in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Rhode Island was the latest to join, jumping into the action in 2024. However, of the three biggest American states – California, Florida, and Texas – while sports betting is on the table, online casino gaming currently isn’t.

The state of play for casino gaming is very much an East Coast offering for now. It all began with the high-profile opening of DE, followed by NJ and then WV. Of the states that offer online sports betting, New York is the most comparable to California, but is still a distant second in terms of population (39 million to 20 million) and contribution to national GDP (14.14 percent to 7.92 percent).

Incredible Potential in the Golden State

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Before we delve into the numbers of the other states, California is, by far, the most populated and largest contributor to national GDP in the US. While New York has been coveted by the gambling industry since entering the US, the potential in the Golden State is arguably much higher for both the industry and the state itself. As an example, the mobile sports betting handle NY saw in October 2024 alone hit a record $2.32 billion.

New York is particularly fond of taxing firms, too. In brick-and-mortar establishments, gaming revenues are taxed as just ten percent. Online, platforms are hit for a 51 percent tax rate. It’s huge, and has meant a lot of money for the state. Pennsylvania, the fifth-largest state by population, regulates a total online gambling scene from sports betting to casino gaming. Revenues here in 2023/24 eclipsed $2.1 billion at a 36 percent tax rate after paying a $10 million one-time starting fee.

Florida is edging closer to an open online sports betting scene, and that sector alone is expected to see $2 billion in bets per month. Were California’s stance to change, it seems likely that its industry and tax revenues would rival and even eclipse that of New York, let alone Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the like.