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US Market: 2017 Online Gambling Wrap-Up

As 2017 comes to an end, supporters of online gambling in the U.S. have a lot to smile about. New Jersey posted impressive revenue month after month, Pennsylvania made the bold move to legalize the industry, and a number of other states are poised to move forward with legislation in 2018.

New Jersey

In October of this year, New Jersey online gambling revenue broke the $200 million mark since it legalized online gambling in 2013. In addition to record-breaking revenue, New Jersey has no shortage of items on its agenda.

Earlier this year, New Jersey joined an online poker liquidity compact with Nevada and Delaware, which means that the three states have agreed to pool poker players, creating the potential for more online poker revenue. Also, NJ Governor Chris Christie is fighting the Supreme Court to allow online sports betting within state borders. Online sports betting is currently prohibited in most of the United States; Christie is arguing the constitutionality of that law. And at the same time, New Jersey is working on allowing racetracks to offer on-site online gambling.

Pennsylvania

In October of this year, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a bill to legalize online gambling. Governor Tom Wolf signed the bill into law in early November, making Pennsylvania the fourth state to offer legalized online gambling in the U.S.

The journey toward legalization was a long one, fraught with obstacles along the way, but now that Rep. Jason Ortitay’s bill has been approved, Pennsylvania is hoping to see some serious new revenue, which may just be the long-term solution to the state’s significant budget deficit.

States Considering Legalizing Online Gambling

New York, Michigan, and New Hampshire have been seriously considering the issue online gambling for quite some time; and each state is in prime position to legalize it in 2018. Of course, with an issue as sensitive as online gambling, nothing is certain until a bill is signed, but there is good reason to believe that these three states will be the next ones to take the plunge into online gambling in 2018.