Wyoming is truly benefitting from people placing legal, online bets on sports. And it’s not the only state that’s seen significant tax revenue growth from legalized online sports betting.
From college and pro football to NASCAR to the Kentucky Derby, betting on sports has exploded after states started legalizing and regulating it. A new report says that Wyoming saw a 32.9% increase in sports betting tax revenue, the 9th-largest increase nationwide.
The online site, LendingTree, analyzed U.S. Census Bureau state tax revenue data to identify which states generate the most money from sports betting. They also surveyed Americans to better understand their sentiments toward legalized betting on sports. What they found was the Cowboy State is following the rest of the country in increased tax revenue from legal sports betting.
- Wyoming saw a 32.9% increase in tax revenue from sports betting, the 9th-largest increase nationwide. Tax revenue from sports betting increased from $11,666,000 in 2022 to $15,503,000 in 2023.
- Across the country, tax revenue from sports betting rose 34.7%. Sports betting tax revenue jumped to just under $2.5 billion, up from more than $1.8 billion in 2022.
- 44% of Americans say sports betting should be legal nationwide, while just 18% disagree. Currently, sports betting is legal in 38 states plus the District of Columbia.
- Nearly half of Americans (47%) are concerned that more sports betting will lead to more sports cheating, while 15% say they aren’t concerned.
Sports betting has rapidly grown in the United States into a $10 billion industry since a 2018 Supreme Court decision allowed states to legalize the practice. And the sky is the limit on the significant expansion that remains ahead, according to Goldman Sachs Research.
“We expect growth to be driven by a combination of new state openings and a higher share of the consumer wallet being spent on sports betting over time,” says Ben Andrews, head of leisure and travel research for Goldman Sachs Research.
Based on a model that evaluates states’ propensity to approve sports betting legislation and consumers’ spending potential, experts at Goldman Sachs are forecasting that Americans will legally spend $45 billion on sports betting each year when the market is mature.
“We’re in the middle innings of the development of the market,” according to Noah Naparst, who evaluates sports betting companies for Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “At this point, about half the states have legalized mobile sports betting. The product is continuing to get better, with more sports being offered. Promotions are continuing to come down. Existing markets are still growing at a rapid clip. So we’re not mature yet, but we’re not in the early wildcat days of the market anymore, either.”
Interestingly, the rise of app-based betting has also changed the types of wagers that bettors make. While people often associate sports betting with predictions about what the game’s final score will be, parlays – which combine multiple wagers into a single bet – have become increasingly popular. Bettors like them for their potential lottery-like payouts, and operators value their high margins.
“The rapid rise of parlays has been a distinctive feature of sports betting’s rise in the US,” Andrews says. “We expect parlay penetration to continue to rise from here, along with improved in-game betting products, and greater personalization across the user experience, bets offered, and promotions.”
Naparst highlights the rise of in-game betting as a development that could also have important implications for media companies.
“The future of sports betting is the convergence of media and sports and betting,” Naparst predicts. “You’re watching a basketball game in your betting app, and a player is about to take a free throw. The odds that he or she makes it pop up on screen, and the app asks, ‘Do you want to do this bet or not?’ That’s where the industry is heading.”
