By comparison, sports betting in 30 states generated $4.29 billion and only $560 million in taxes. The American Gaming Association said legal iGaming in those half-dozen states generated $3.71 billion in total revenue and $970 million in gaming taxes in 2021. Last year, the Nevada Gaming Control Board postponed a planned workshop hearing to discuss potential regulatory changes that would allow the state to offer full online casino gaming. Six states – Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – have legalized online casino gaming.

“States are leaving billions of dollars in tax revenue on the table which could fund a variety of public programs and services without resorting to broad-based taxes,” Glaser said. Howard Glaser, Light & Wonder’s global head of government affairs, said in a statement that expanding the legal online casino gaming would allow states to increase tax revenue and slice into the illegal offshore internet gaming market. In the report, VIXIO authors stated the projected tax revenue reflected an iGaming market that reached a point of maturity, which potentially doesn’t take place until at least the second or third year of full operations. Las Vegas-based Light & Wonder provides online gaming platforms, gaming content and integration systems between traditional casino games and digital products. Online gaming includes slot-themed games and traditional casino table games played on a digital platform. VIXIO developed the forecasts independent from Light & Wonder, which changed its name from Scientific Games earlier this year. The $6.35 billion tax revenue figure was based on an assumed 20 percent tax rate for new states - higher than Nevada’s 6.75 percent rate, in line with a 19 percent tax in Michigan, but lower than Pennsylvania’s 54 percent tax for online slots.

As it stands now, Nevada only allows online poker. The report, produced by VIXIO GamblingCompliance, looked at the potential financial results if internet gaming – referred to as iGaming – was legal in the 42 states that currently allow land-based casinos, mobile sports betting or both. A study commissioned by gaming equipment provider and developer Light & Wonder found that expanding legal online casinos to additional states could produce annual revenue of more than $30 billion with tax revenue of $6.35 billion.

Delaware online casino revenues