- Only five states have handled more than $5 billion in total sports wagers so far.
- Colorado is most likely to be the sixth state to have handled a total of more than $5 billion
- Michigan residents bet almost $1 billion in only two months near the end of 2021.
LAS VEGAS – 2021 has been a huge year for the sports betting industry, with literally billions being wagered on sports across the country. However, only five states have handled more than $5 billion in total sports wagers.
States With Sportsbook Handles > $5B
- New Jersey: $20,295,326,482
- Nevada: $18,723,530,831
- Pennsylvania: $10,128,765,090
- Illinois: $7,334,929,102
- Indiana: $5,571,665,625
But there are a few states currently trending to break their $5 billion thresholds in 2022 despite only a handful of states doing so previously.
Colorado
Colorado is currently the closest legal sports betting state to breaking the $5 billion threshold and become the sixth state to do so.
Resting at an overall handle of just over $4 billion, over $1 billion of that handle came from the last three months of the year. Colorado sportsbooks are all but guaranteed to glide past the $5 billion total handle in 2022 – maybe even before Super Bowl LVI.
Michigan + Virginia
Michigan’s regulated sportsbooks have handled $3.5 billion since launch – the majority of which came from this year alone. Within the heart of the NFL season, Michigan sportsbooks nearly handled $1 billion in two months.
- October 2021: $497,565,425
- November 2021: $500,521,376
If this trend continues, it’s likely that Michigan will also break past the $5 billion handle threshold in the spring.
Although Virginia sportsbooks aren’t quite as close to breaking past the mark, they’re still a near lock given their record so far. After launching a regulated sports betting market in January 2021, Virginia sportsbooks handled over $2.5 billion in 2021.
In October, Virginia sportsbooks handled $427.3 million in just one month. With gambling in Virginia expanding at a rapid pace, it may take to just before the 2022 NFL season to hit the mark.
