In the United States in 2024, the boom in online gambling is not benefiting licensed platforms. According to the latest study by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) and Yield Sec, 74% of online gambling revenue comes from illegal operators, representing $67.1 billion out of a total of $90.1 billion. But why such an imbalance?
Illegal: more attractive, more ubiquitous
Why are these unlicensed platforms so appealing? Several obvious reasons emerge. First, these operators pay no taxes or licence fees: they can offer higher bonuses, more varied products, and even prediction markets such as elections or tariffs, which are inaccessible to legal sites.
Second, their visibility dwarfs that of legal sites: 88% of exposure to online gambling content comes from illegal platforms, because they make extensive use of search engines, social media and streaming, particularly around events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness and the Olympic Games.
Unfair and dangerous competition
There are 917 illegal operators, supported by 668 affiliates, compared to 95 legal operators and only 106 legitimate affiliates.
These figures reveal unequal competition: licensed platforms account for 26% of revenue, while illegal operators take 74%. And this divide is not narrowing: illegal revenue has increased by 64% in one year, compared to only 36% for the legal market.
Failure of regulations?
The report indicates that even in states that are legally open to online gaming (such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan), unlicensed operators continue to dominate, capturing around 42-43% of the market, compared to 57-58% for legal sites.
In states without regulation (such as California, Texas and Ohio), illegality reigns supreme, with market shares reaching 85% to 100%.
Thus, legalisation is not synonymous with the elimination of the black market. It simply increases consumer losses, measured as a percentage of average per capita income.
In states without online gambling, gambling accounts for 0.31% of average income. With sports betting alone, this rate rises to 0.77% (+148%). And with legal casinos and sports betting, it climbs to 1.12% (+261%).
Ohio illustrates the phenomenon: one year after legalising sports betting (2023), online losses reached 1.33% of average income, more than double the national average.
And what about consumers?
Customers often see no difference between legal and illegal sites. The latter have the technological means to compete visually with, and even surpass, authorised platforms.
However, playing on these unregulated sites exposes users to serious risks: no guaranteed payment, no responsible gaming measures, easy access for minors, money laundering.
Illegality is not declining
This is not simply a lack of regulation, but a war of influence: licensed platforms are unable to compete in terms of bonuses, visibility or variety of games. And this observation is accompanied by a real threat to player safety and public finances.
What this report tells us is clear: the legitimacy of online gambling cannot be achieved through legislation alone, it must be earned. And for the moment, it is still too often compromised.