A new study projects that regulated igaming in the US state of New York would generate US$18bn in revenue in the next four years.
Funded by the Sports Betting Alliance, the Analysis Group’s study also forecasts that igaming would generate $9.2bn in revenue for Illinois.
Louisiana, Maryland and Virginia all have the potential to generate a further $3.9bn, $5.5bn and $5.4bn in the next four years by legalising igaming.
The study, titled The Potential Economic Impact of Legalising iGaming on Casino Revenues in Five States, furthermore says regulated igaming would “modestly” increase casino revenues, with state tax revenues “likewise modelled to increase.”
The study authors based their projections on the impact of igaming in the six US states where it is currently legal, as well as sports betting data and a consumer behaviour analysis to understand how igaming is currently used in relation to land-based casino gaming.
The so-called igaming cannibalisation debate has been a hot topic so far in 2024 for the US industry as the recent wave of sports betting regulation in the country slows and the focus turns to further potential igaming roll-outs instead.
Other studies have also found that igaming does not have a detrimental impact on land-based casino revenues.
New York lawmakers, Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow have continued to push for igaming regulation in the Empire State but to no avail – online casino gaming was not included in Governor Kathy Hochul’s most recent budget.
The two lawmakers wrote in an opinion piece in December that igaming revenues would go “above and beyond” New York’s “tremendous” mobile sports betting successes.
Elsewhere, recent figures from the New Jersey Division for Gaming Enforcement found that Atlantic City's casinos were less profitable in 2023 amid record igaming revenue in the Garden State.
