There has been a significant amount of change to the US iGaming industry over the past four years and here at Casino Genie we’ve offered a number of different guides that looks at the state of iGaming across the states as well as covering any potential and upcoming changes too. This will be a comprehensive look at all things US iGaming wrapped up in their current state, and anything that may be subject to change in the near future too as the US as a whole goes through a major transitionary period to catch the other big iGaming markets available.
Current availability – As of 2022, 30 of the 50 states in the US have now in one form or another legalized some variety of iGaming with the major focus being on sports betting through online platforms – throughout the year there could be change here for another three or four states, but well over half have made change. Of the remaining 20, very few look to show no movement at all, with the rest having legislation in the works or adjustment potentially coming in the near future.
In Person vs Mobile – Whilst the ultimate goal is to have all services make the mobile shift and take advantage of all iGaming has to offer, but not all states have been so decisive on the change for a number of reasons – one of the more recent cases has come from Maryland having passed legislation that opens opportunities for online and mobile licensing, but pushed back in importance there has been a slow amount of progress on getting mobile sports betting moving forward as in-person betting is the only option currently available.
Sports Betting vs Online Casinos – The major focus throughout the past few years has been within the legalization of online sports betting with the majority of states making this change, and only very few states have legalized online casinos in this same time period. There may be an opportunity in the future for the states that have allowed sports betting to branch into online casinos too, but there are some blockers here that may make it difficult even with the changing attitudes and support for these game types.
Current blockers for US iGaming – Although support is growing across the country, there are some things that may limit the speed of change throughout the country. Tribal casino rights have long been a heel for making major adjustment as it adds a whole new layer of regulation to navigate through, and whilst this has been largely fine for sports betting, when it comes to online casinos this could be a bigger issue to tackle. More traditional values are also something to be considered across many states too, for a few of the remaining twenty states yet to legalize this will be something that may mean change is unlikely to see easy adjustment.
The US iGaming space is still seeing plenty of change and international interest from gaming operators is a promising sign of future change too, whilst sports betting is the current focus there is room for different forms of gaming to emerge and help the US grow to become the biggest iGaming market in the world too.