Report Shows Rapid Growth in US Illegal Online Gambling

Illegal online gambling revenue in the US reached an estimated $97.4 billion in 2025, according to a report by Gambling Compliance International.

The study was commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling. It found that illegal platforms represented 77% of the country’s $125.6 billion online gambling market.

Revenue from unregulated operators increased by 45%, up from $67.1 billion in 2024. The legal market grew by 23%, from $23 billion to $28.3 billion.

The regulated figures cover online casinos, sports betting, prediction markets and online lotteries. They do not include fantasy sports, sweepstakes casinos, social gaming or land-based gambling.

Campaign for Fairer Gambling founder Derek Webb argued:

In the absence of monitoring, policing, and enforcement against the illicit sector, all expansion achieves is to help the total addressable marketplace for all forms of online gambling grow.

The report also compared online gambling spending across US states. Players in Michigan spent an estimated 1.72% of their income on online betting. The figure was 1.57% in West Virginia, 1.56% in New Jersey and 1.34% in Pennsylvania.

States without legal online casinos or mobile sports betting recorded lower rates. Online gambling spending represented 0.26% of income in Washington and 0.32% in both South Carolina and Minnesota.