The American Gaming Association (AGA) reports that US commercial gaming operators managed to generate $78.72 billion in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) during 2025. The results show the strength of regulated gaming channels, and the president of the AGA, Bill Miller, believes that strong state oversight is essential as the industry continues to evolve.
Growth across the industry in 2025
Every major vertical set records in 2025 with strong success across commercial and tribal gaming. Bill Miller said this was particularly remarkable considering the economic uncertainty and headwinds.
Online gambling
Americans can play casino games at a mobile casino in seven U.S. states as of March 2026. In 2025, online casino gambling brought in $10.74 billion in revenue. This reflected 27.5% growth and contributed $2.59 billion in taxes.
Land-based casino gaming
This was still the largest contributor to GGR. It accounted for nearly $51 billion in revenue, up about 2.3% from the previous year. The taxes traditional casinos generated amounted to $11.33 billion, an increase of 7.2%.
Sports wagering
Sports wagering revenue reached nearly $17 billion, and the total handle rose by 11% to almost $167 billion.
Millions of jobs and billions in taxes
Miller stated that gaming was responsible for 1.8 million jobs and generated $53 billion in tax impact in 2025. Commercial operators alone paid over $18 billion in gaming taxes. This has a massive impact on communities across the country, supporting property tax relief, education systems, and other beneficiaries.
Prediction markets
According to the AGA, over $500 million in potential sports betting tax revenue is now going to prediction market platforms. Data from platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket show an excess of $1.6 billion in trading volume from last year’s Super Bowl. Various prediction markets are contributing to the crypto hype and to the shaping of the future of digital assets.
Prediction platforms operate under federal rather than state oversight and don’t contribute to state tax revenue. They don’t have to offer consumers access to responsible gambling tools. According to Bill Miller, sports betting should be under state and tribal regulation to protect consumers and allow communities to share in the benefits.
Michigan, Montana, and Connecticut are considering legislation that might impact gambling and prediction markets.
New gambling tax proposals
With the growing US casino market size, several states are in the process of reassessing their tax structures. There is likely to be continued pressure for tax increases in 2026 as states try to fill budget gaps.
Illinois introduced a progressive tax rate of up to 40% and a per-wager fee of $0.25 to $0.50 in July last year. The total sports bets placed in autumn showed a 15% year-over-year decline. This month, House Bill 5143 was introduced to repeal the per-bet fee. Concerns are that higher costs could lead to players betting at unregulated offshore sites.
In 2024, Ohio raised its sports betting tax rate from 10% to 20%. Handles kept rising, but sportsbook revenue went down as operators reduced promotional spending. A proposal for the governor to raise the rate to 40% in the 2026-27 budget cycle had no support.
In Massachusetts, Senate Bill 302 proposes lifting the online betting tax to 51% and restricting certain wager types and VIP programs.
In West Virginia, legislators have introduced House Bill 4398 to raise the sportsbook tax to 25%. A separate proposal seeks to raise the online gambling tax rate from 15% to 25%.
In Pennsylvania, there have been ongoing discussions regarding taxing ‘skill games.’ Proposals range from a 52% tax on gross terminal revenue to a 25% rate favored by some Republicans in the Senate.
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland proposed doubling the sports betting tax to 30% in 2025. Legislators settled on a 20% tax rate.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy proposed increasing sports betting taxes from 13% to 25%. Lawmakers have approved a new 19.75% tax rate. New Jersey is one of the states that has introduced bills to heavily regulate or ban sweepstakes casinos.
In New York, where the tax rate is already 51%, a 2026 proposal would allow for a potential reduction if more operators were licensed. New York also recently enacted a ban on sweepstakes gambling.
