There will be plenty of fanfare for how well the sports betting industry fared in 2024 – and with good reason, as handle, revenue, and tax income records fell across the country.
But for all the enthusiasm sportsbooks had going into the NFL season, a couple of big months for the public resulted in dramatically lower figures in terms of both gross revenue and tax revenue – and the reverberations of these developments were felt in every state and by every sports betting site.
Here's a detailed breakdown of the 2024 numbers, which will be updated as states continue to file their reports for the last two months of the year:
U.S. Sports Betting Handle 2024
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
We're still waiting on reports for the final two months of the season, but the overall betting handle trends are overwhelmingly positive.
It's particularly notable that the summer months saw the greatest year-over-year lift in handle, with increased interest in the WNBA, the Summer Olympics in Paris, and soccer's European Championships likely fueling that growth.
U.S. Sports Betting Gross Revenue 2024
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
As great as it is from a sportsbook revenue perspective to see such strong numbers over the first nine months of 2024, the real story is where the numbers land for October, which was a historically terrific month for the betting public (and a truly terrible 31-day stretch for the books).
If seeing sports betting's breakneck growth pace from the first nine months screech to a halt weren't shocking enough, you can expect similar results when December reports surface.
U.S. Sports Betting Hold 2024
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
When the favorites win, the sportsbooks lose – and that will prove to be the theme of 2024, including where the monthly hold rates fall by year's end.
March Madness was much chalkier in 2024 than it was a year earlier, resulting in a much weaker take for the sportsbooks. And October was a bettor's delight (and a sports betting site's nightmare). You can expect a similar (or even worse) result in December, when NFL bettors once again took sports betting sites to the cleaners.
U.S. Sports Betting Tax Revenue 2024
| Month | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
A massive summer will give way to an underwhelming fall based on everything we've seen and heard from shell-shocked sportsbooks. The year will still be considered a success based on the year-over-year growth, but both governments and sports betting sites will be left wondering what could have been.
2024 Sports Betting Revenue Report By State
(Only states that have reported sports betting data through December 2024 have been included.)
Indiana
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $4,337,817,508 | $5,212,332,664 | ▲ 20.2% |
| Gross Revenue | $404,363,766 | $484,972,000 | ▲ 19.9% |
| Hold Rate | 9.3% | 9.3% | -- |
| Tax Revenue | $38,417,065 | $46,245,606 | ▲ 20.4% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $614,362,613 (November)
- Gross Revenue: $68,820,755 (November)
- Hold Rate: 11.4% (September)
- Tax Revenue: $6,516,195 (November)
Caitlin Clark probably doesn't deserve all the credit here, but it's clear that her emergence as a women's basketball powerhouse (in more ways than one) has had a significant positive impact on the Indiana sports betting scene.
Clark and the Fever saw significant betting action throughout the 2024 season, helping boost the state's handle, revenue, and tax take by approximately 20% across the board. Those increases came despite a flat year-over-year hold, which is still better than some states will see as the 2024 numbers fill out.
Iowa
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $2,420,464,385 | $2,770,339,581 | ▲ 14.5% |
| Gross Revenue | $198,810,523 | $218,482,781 | ▲ 9.9% |
| Hold Rate | 8.2% | 7.9% | ▼ 3.7% |
| Tax Revenue | $13,434,370 | $14,764,651 | ▲ 9.9% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $315,221,241 (November)
- Gross Revenue: $30,069,720 (November)
- Hold Rate: 10.1% (September)
- Tax Revenue: $2,029,706 (November)
While Clark's WNBA landing spot reaped the benefits of her arrival from a sports betting handle perspective, her collegiate home fared quite well, too.
Iowa's run to the 2024 Women's National Championship game proved to be a boon for Iowa sports betting, which took in a record $272 million in handle (a mark that was subsequently beaten in October, then again in November). That contributed to healthy increases in handle, revenue, and tax take despite a slight dip in hold rate.
Maine*
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | N/A | $520,039,827 | N/A |
| Gross Revenue | N/A | $53,455,790 | N/A |
| Hold Rate | N/A | 10.3% | N/A |
| Tax Revenue | N/A | $5,518,700 | N/A |
*launched in November 2023
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $52,244,023 (December)
- Gross Revenue: $7,878,434 (November)
- Hold Rate: 15.4% (November)
- Tax Revenue: $790,413 (November)
We only have two months of 2023 data on the Maine sports betting front, but the year-over-year increases across November and December (a combined 26.5% across both months) suggest that 2024 was a highly successful month for the state.
Maine's double-digit handle stands out here, and you can expect it to be even higher in 2025 as parlays continue to grow as a share of total handle and NFL revenue expected to bounce back on some level following an unusually chalky 2024 showing.
Maryland
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $4,617,323,134 | $5,940,586,767 | ▲ 28.7% |
| Gross Revenue | $514,081,190 | $635,714,970 | ▲ 23.7% |
| Hold Rate | 11.1% | 10.7% | ▼ 3.6% |
| Tax Revenue | $46,165,910 | $82,294,052 | ▲ 78.2% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $639,867,400 (November)
- Gross Revenue: $82,338,595 (November)
- Hold Rate: 13.1% (July)
- Tax Revenue: $11,798,035 (November)
You can't attribute the success of a state's local teams solely to sports betting growth – but it certainly didn't hurt the Maryland sports betting scene that the state's pro sports franchises were mostly really good in 2024.
Both the Washington Commanders and the Baltimore Ravens have advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, while the Orioles won 91 games and narrowly missed the playoffs. Even the NHL's Washington Capitals, who play in nearby D.C. but have a huge Maryland following, have excelled as one of the top teams in the league in 2024-25.
Montana
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $62,258,820 | $66,470,003 | ▲ 6.8% |
| Gross Revenue | $8,446,611 | $7,133,020 | ▼ 15.6% |
| Hold Rate | 13.6% | 10.7% | ▼ 22.8% |
| Tax Revenue | $1,332,437 | $291,613 | ▼ 78.2% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $7,590,563 (October)
- Gross Revenue: $1,593,724 (November)
- Hold Rate: 21.5% (November)
- Tax Revenue: $510,561 (November)
Few states experience crazier swings in hold and tax revenue than Montana, which saw dramatic highs and lows in 2024.
Residents of Big Sky Country raided sports betting coffers with impunity, leading to four months where the state finished with negative tax revenue (including a staggering -$471,621 as the result of an October bloodbath.) On the flip side, Montana also produced holds of 19% or higher in three different months, highlighted by a very lucrative November.
New York
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $19,196,867,479 | $22,703,977,143 | ▲ 18.3% |
| Gross Revenue | $1,697,297,617 | $2,049,143,425 | ▲ 20.7% |
| Hold Rate | 8.8% | 9.0% | ▲ 2.2% |
| Tax Revenue | $861,500,724 | $1,043,129,984 | ▲ 21.1% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $2,329,400,446 (October)
- Gross Revenue: $232,209,981 (November)
- Hold Rate: 11.1% (July)
- Tax Revenue: $118,164,737 (November)
The Empire State lived up to its moniker yet again in 2024, producing some truly stratospheric numbers even despite falling well short of NFL revenue projections.
New York sports betting produced a staggering $22.7 billion in handle for the year, and its $2+ billion in gross revenue and $1+ billion in tax revenue are new single-year benchmarks that no other state has come close to reaching. Just imagine how much greater the take will be when the Jets and Giants field competitive rosters.
Oregon
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $675,932,833 | $864,688,481 | ▲ 27.9% |
| Gross Revenue | $75,729,585 | $94,436,598 | ▲ 24.7% |
| Hold Rate | 11.2% | 10.9% | ▼ 2.7% |
| Tax Revenue | $37,864,795 | $47,218,303 | ▲ 24.7% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $90,178,020 (December)
- Gross Revenue: $11,895,589 (November)
- Hold Rate: 15.1% (September)
- Tax Revenue: $5,947,795 (November)
You can chalk up Oregon's massive year-over-year gains to the same factors that have impacted every other state – and throw in a little extra thanks to the Ducks' success.
While the NCAA football season didn't end with a national championship, the Ducks securing the No. 1 ranking for the final two months of the regular season certainly gave bettors and fans plenty of reason to support the team down the stretch. That goes a long way toward explaining why Oregon sports betting saw a nearly 25% jump in gross and tax revenue, and a 28% increase in overall handle for the year.
Tennessee
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle | $4,617,323,134 | $5,940,586,767 | ▲ 28.7% |
| Gross Revenue | $514,081,190 | $635,714,970 | ▲ 23.7% |
| Hold Rate | 11.1% | 10.7% | ▼ 3.6% |
| Tax Revenue | $46,165,910 | $82,294,052 | ▲ 78.3% |
Monthly Highs
- Handle: $639,867,400 (November)
- Gross Revenue: $82,338,595 (November)
- Hold Rate: 14.7% (January)
- Tax Revenue: $11,798,035 (November)
Give Tennessee sports betting full credit for weathering the October and December storms, and still coming out well ahead of last year.
The Volunteer State never saw a hold lower than 7.2% in any month, enabling it to post a double-digit rate for the third year in a row. And while it did come in slightly lower than 2023, Tennessee more than made up the difference by taking in nearly $6 billion in bets (and generating just shy of $82.3 million in tax revenue).
