OFFSHORE GAMBLING
Size Matters: Quantifying the Illegal US Online Gambling Market UNDERSTANDING THE SIZE AND NATURE OF THE OFFSHORE IGAMING AND SPORTS BETTING MARKET ARE ESSENTIAL FIRST STEPS TO HIGHER CHANNELIZATION ARGUES PHIL SAVAGE
G etting a handle on the size of the illegal gambling market is not easy. Whereas licensed operators report their numbers very publicly, the diffuse nature of the illegal market, in multiple jurisdictions, with different or non-existent reporting requirements, makes sizing difficult. Attempts to date have focused on web traffic to known black market operator sites as a proxy for gambling activity. There is certainly going to be a correlation but there are a couple of shortcomings with this approach. First, there is no indication as to the size of wagers. It could be that they are the same as in the legal market, but an argument can also be made that regular gamblers, attracted to the black market over years of prohibition, will wager larger amounts. Determining the
average size of wagers is critical to assessing the size of the illegal market. Second, the data lacks granularity: traffic may increase at peak times around major sports events, for example, but we can only guess at the types of verticals and bets which are attractive. A study in 2022 carried out on behalf of the American Gaming Association relied on survey data from around 5200 adults. It concluded the illegal market in online sports betting and iGaming was worth US$17.3 billion in GGR in 2022. If anything, this feels like an underestimate given that California alone is projected to be worth anywhere from US$2 billion to US$10 billion by those pushing for legalization.
PAGE 40
IMGL MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker