U.S. top 5 earners for sports betting tax revenue by state in 2020

After a positive 2020, the year 2021 is anticipated as even more favorable for U.S. bettors, as well as for States collection.

The experienced sports betting site in the United States, Odds.com, established a ranking that analyzes what has been the evolution of the most important States in the country in terms of handle, revenue and taxes in this segment throughout the year 2020. The valuable work allows checking how the collection and the income have grown, in an extensive territory in which more and more States decide to regulate sports betting. We reproduce here the Top 5 Earners by State of 2020.

#1 Pennsylvania

It is no surprise that, at a 36% tax rate and an aggressively growing market, Pennsylvania ended up on the top spot. For 2020, Pennsylvania’s hold to date is US$4,540,029,200, with revenue at US$338,806,887 and tax revenue of US$84,999,203. In October 2020, Pennsylvania reported a sports betting handle of US$525,802,524, while in November, the handle came in at US$491,910,713. Revenue was up month over month, US$47,834,647 vs. US$48,500,443. Online sportsbook operators like DraftKings, Barstool, and FanDuel control 70% of this market’s handle, and all were down for the month. With NBA back again, it will be interesting to see if Pennsylvania gains traction again or continues on the decline.

#2 New Jersey

New Jersey bettors made their mark this past November as the Garden State reported their monthly sports betting handle. For the 4th time in a row, they have broken state and national records with a handle of US$931 million. Online sports betting made up 93.6% (US$872.1 million) of the reported number. This State’s 2020 handle to date is US$10,850,873,475, with revenue at US$725,483,208 and tax revenue of US$93,813,623 (8.5% tax rate). Although the state almost hit US$1 billion in bets, brick and mortar casinos and racetracks saw very little of that action. Many operators are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with their online betting offerings and are going all-in. With the success of sports betting, now, lawmakers are re-evaluating the ban on betting on college sports. If the ban is overturned, it could give the Garden State the boost needed to hit that billion dollar mark. Another change is that a new online operator has joined the New Jersey family. Malta sportsbook operator Tipico, with their app powered by Sportsradar, offers bettors more betting options.

#3 Nevada

The most mature betting market, Nevada, comes in at number 3 with record-breaking numbers reported for November. Even though the pandemic hit the strip hard, online sports betting continues to grow. Nevada’s 2020 handle comes in at an impressive US$12,092,470,828 billion, with US$725,483,208 million in revenue. The state generated US$93,813,623 in tax revenue at a 6.75% tax rate. However, casinos revenue fell 32.46% because of the COVID-19 restrictions. Online sports wagering accounted for 56.4% of the bets taken during the month. Football action came in at a record of US$56 million. Experts suggested that the lack of NBA and NHL helped the high football numbers as well as November having an extra Sunday.

#4 Rhode Island

Just like Illinois, sports betting revenue nearly collapsed in Rhode Island once the pandemic hit. In July 2020, Governor Gina Raimondo had to sign into law two bills that eliminated the in-person registration requirement to keep sports betting alive. As of November 2020, Rhode Island’s 2020 handle was US$458,727,812, Revenue US$40,371,991 and Tax Revenue US$20,589,715 at a 51% tax rate. After the bills passed, July’s handle (US$6,738,626) started on the upswing again compared to June’s (US$2,032,803) sad numbers. By August, the state started seeing record handle numbers of US$23,116,965 vs. US$10,060,066 in August 2019 and revenue followed US$725,929 vs. US$434,412 in 2019. IGT and William Hill partnered up to provide the ocean state bettors a sports betting product that could handle their sports betting action. Their app and online product received 44% of October’s handle and 45% of November’s one.

#5 Illinois

Illinois had a rocky start for sports betting, with a March 9th 2020 launch only to be suspended on March 16th because of COVID-19 concerns. Online sports betting resumed on June 18th and the market has been growing ever since. As of October 2020, sports bettors have placed US$941,403,906 in bets, generating US$60,335,613 in revenue and US$9,749,255 in tax revenue for their state at a 15% tax rate. Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker had to adjust on the fly once the pandemic hit and suspend its sports betting requirement that bettors in Illinois must go to a casino and register before having the ability to place a bet via Internet. That opened up the online market and, by October 2020, 94% of its sports betting handle (US$434,310,957) was all online action. Casinos were quick to react, and reached out to online giants to help with this online betting trend they were facing. Casino Queen partnered up with DraftKings to manage their US$141 million online October handle. Rivers Casino had a US$106 million October handle and Par-A-Dice Casino partnered with FanDuel. Illinois bettors have been wagering on football that took in US$191 million in action. The rest was between basketball, baseball, tennis, and soccer.