2024 Q1 Top 10 U.S. States Betting Handles | Odds Shark

Before 2018, widespread legalized sports betting in the United States was confined to the state of Nevada. And in 2017, Nevada amassed a then-record $4.8 billion on sports betting during the year. The Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 opened the door for individual states to legalize sports betting if they so chose, and we now have nearly 40 states with legalized sports betting in the U.S. – although no new states have legalized sports betting this year, for the first time since 2018.

North Carolina went live with mobile sports wagering in March of 2024, which has helped to define a hierarchy of states in terms of total dollars wagered across the country. And while every state is on a different timetable in terms of reporting, we’re far enough from Quarter 1 of 2024 that every state (outside of Florida) with a big enough handle has now reported. It should come as no shock that every state on the list below has widespread mobile sports wagering.

Here are the Top 10 U.S. states in terms of total dollars wagered in Q1 of this year:

Top 10 U.S. States First Quarter Betting Handle

1. New York: $5.6 Billion

New York is now the clear No. 1 sports betting market in the U.S., having gained that title since going live with mobile wagering in Jan. 2022. It’s also the most profitable state for tax revenue thanks to its 51% tax rate.

2. New Jersey: $4.13B

The Garden State was the leading market for U.S. States before New York legalized mobile in Jan. 2022. 

3. Illinois: $3.62B

Illinois, the sixth-largest U.S. state by population, has consistently been a top-three state in terms of handle since mobile wagering was legalized back in August 2020.

4. Pennsylvania: $2.32B

Pennsylvania, the fifth-largest state, amassed a record $98.1 million in revenue in Dec. 2023, and consistently is among the top states in total dollars wagered.

5. Ohio: $2.29B

Ohio went over $1 billion in its first month of wagering in Jan. 2023, and has consistently been in the top five among all U.S. states since then.

6. Nevada: $2.28B

The original state with widespread legalization sports betting before 2018, Vegas is responsible for a good amount of the biggest bets in the U.S., but the rise of mobile betting across the country (and in neighboring Arizona) has hurt Nevada’s overall handle

7. Arizona: $2.10B

March 2024 produced the highest recorded monthly handle all-time for Arizona ($759.8M), which launched back in Sept. 2021.

8. Massachusetts: $1.85B

Massachusetts went live with mobile sports betting in March 2023 and has been another consistent Top 10 state in handle since then.

9. Virginia: 1.83B

Bolstered by the poor sports betting options in Washington D.C. (until recently) and a large population, Virginia has been a mainstay in the Top 10 monthly lists by handle.

10. Colorado: $1.73B

Sports betting handle was up nearly 18% year-over-year in Q1 in Colorado, which is one of the biggest sports betting markets west of Illinois.