Online gambling wasn’t even a topic of discussion when Congress made sports gambling illegal.Back in 1992 they passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and no one really blinked. If someone wanted to place a bet on the Super Bowl or a basketball game, their options were minimal at best: jump on a plane to Las Vegas or phone their local bookie. Fast forward 25 years and the internet is ubiquitous and laws such as PASPA arcane, making May 14, 2018, a day of gambling liberation, as the Supreme Court overturned the law on the grounds it was unconstitutional and commandeered power from states.
With the federal ban removed, the majority of states have enacted laws defining legal online gambling to participate in a booming global market. As such, innovation is thriving to offer operators and consumers premium experiences. Playgon Games is seizing the opportunity, while others in the space, including Boyd Gaming Corporation, MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Zynga also look to capitalize on the momentum building behind online gaming.
Statistics make the opportunity crystal clear. In the United States alone, commercial gaming revenue totaled $52.99 billion in 2021, smashing the record set in 2019 by 21%, according to the American Gaming Association’s Revenue Tracker. Last year’s revenue was a 77% improvement over 2020, a year rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused casinos to be shuttered for months. The pandemic taught operators a harsh lesson about the importance of offering online gambling, a trend that was already accelerating before COVID ravaged the world.
Globally, online gambling growth is outstripping traditional gambling. Online gambling, also called iGaming, involves any internet-based betting on games of chance, including sporting events, skill games (i.e., blackjack) or virtual slot machines. In 2019, total iGaming revenue reached $58.9 billion, a figure expected to climb to $92.9 billion in 2023. Within that market segment, mobile online gambling is expected to jump from $24.8 billion to $42.5 billion from 2019 to 2023. Read more about this topic here.