‘US iGaming Round Up: New US States Announcing iGaming Ambitions!’ (Image Source: images.unsplash.com)
It seems the floodgates are open for iGaming in the US. New Jersey, where Evolution operates a live casino studio, and Delaware iGaming markets have shown immense success, and other states are taking notes. An additional 2 US states have already followed in the footsteps of Delaware and New Jersey by legalising online casinos, while more are announcing iGaming ambitions for the future by submitting new legislative bills.
Currently, online casinos in the US originally began to operate in New Jersey and Delaware, while Pennsylvania and West Virginia came online in 2019. Next, Michigan is in line and sometime this month the Wolverine State will become the 5th US state to allow ‘online casinos’ and the 6th to operate online poker sites.
That being said, in the realms of ‘iGaming’ Michigan is technically the 6th state to come online simply because Nevada currently allows online poker, which falls under the iGaming spectrum. Nonetheless, online casinos still have no legal framework in Nevada, and as such, within the realms of iGaming’s online casino niche in the US, Michigan is the 5th state to hit the World Wide Web!
Albeit Michigan is still not officially ‘online’ as gambling authorities are still in the process of preparing licenses for a list of pre-approved online casino brands.
As for online gambling as a whole, there are now a handful of states that allow online sports betting, but no online poker or online casinos. These are Indiana, Rhode Island, Iowa, West Virginia, Oregon, Indiana, New Hampshire, Illinois, Colorado, Washington D.C, and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Connecticut are all moving closer to legalising mobile sports betting.
Within states where online sports betting is already active, many believe it is only a matter of time before iGaming licenses for online casinos and poker will be issued!
Connecticut Bill for iGaming Submitted
In Connecticut, 17 senators as well as representatives came forward by introducing a new bill that will legalise sports betting, iGaming, and iLottery in the state. The only other states further ahead in the process of legalising iGaming are Michigan and West Virginia. For Connecticut citizens starved of online casinos for many years, the good news is that Governor Ned Lamont called for the bill to come forward meaning it is only a matter of time before online casinos hit the state.
Indiana Joins the New US States Announcing iGaming Ambitions
Another state to already submit a bill to bring online casinos to its citizens in Indiana. Online sports betting in Indiana is already breaking records month by month, and its success has meant that officials believe there is still a large untapped tax base out there. iGaming is a solution and representative Alan Morrison has already moved forward that would give licensed gambling establishments in the state the option to apply for an online casino license.
Kentucky Online Poker & Sports Betting Consideration
Also, Kentucky is considering bringing back online poker and sports betting to its state but no mention of online casino games at this time. The bill was originally rejected but Adam Koenig is back but this time minus online casinos. For now, the focus will be on regulating sports betting, online poker, and fantasy sports. Online slots and table games were the issues, and minus these options, the chances are the bill will pass and Kentucky will jump on the mobile and online gambling bandwagon.
Delaware Reports a 133% Rise in Online Gambling on 2020
A successful year for Delaware in the online casino arena. The total revenue came in at $8.4 million, which for a state that has a population of fewer than 1 million people is an impressive figure. In December 2020 total bets across iGaming came to $17.5 million and from those bets, $16.8 million in winnings were paid out. This left profits for the month of roughly $700 thousand.
New Jersey iGaming Exceeds $1.3 billion in 2020
In New Jersey, revenues are soaring from all angles of the online betting industry. The land-based casino industry hit a record low dropping 44% since last year and final figures are around $1.51 billion. Due to the drop in land-based casino revenue, New Jersey’s overall gambling figures including iGaming and online sports betting dropped 17% to $2.89 billion.
For a state that relies so heavily on gambling as a source of tax revenue and tourism, it was up to the iGaming industry to keep things propped up. December 2020 was a record month when the industry pulled in a total of $99.5 million from iGaming as a whole, bringing the total for 2020 over $1.38 billion, which is remarkable.
In 2019, iGaming n New Jersey finished the year with a total of $482.7 million. That’s a 285% increase in revenue, or in other words, since 2019, iGaming revenue in New Jersey almost tripled! Evolution and Ezugi live dealer studios are an integral part of this market, and it is safe to say that revenue for both live dealer brands benefited from the enormous increase in popularity in iGaming in the Garden State!
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