- Legal sports betting operates in 38 states and Washington, D.C., unchanged through the first half of 2026.
- Missouri, live since Dec. 1, 2025, remains the most recent state to launch sports betting.
- Online casino gaming operates in only seven states, with Maine the eighth to legalize it but not yet live.
- US commercial gaming set a sixth straight annual record in 2025 at $78.6 billion, up 9.1%.
WASHINGTON — No state opened a new online sports betting or online casino market in the first half of 2026, leaving legal sports betting live in 38 states and Washington, D.C., with Missouri the most recent market to open.
Online casino gaming remained live in seven states, the figure the American Gaming Association used in its most recent industry report.
Revenue climbed while the map held
US commercial gaming reported record revenue of $78.6 billion in 2025, up 9.1% and a sixth consecutive annual high, the AGA said in its State of the States 2026 report. The industry generated $17.9 billion in gaming taxes for state and local governments.
Sports betting revenue climbed 22.6% to $16.9 billion, the report said, with New York alone exceeding $2.5 billion. Online casino revenue rose 27.6% to more than $10.7 billion across the seven legal states, growing about three times as fast as states with online sports betting even without a new market added. The gains came from within existing states rather than from expansion.
Where expansion stalled
While Maine enacted a law in January 2026 to become another state with online casinos, it has not gone live by the midpoint, and no other state has joined the seven with operating markets.
The largest untapped states showed no near-term path. California and Texas seem like locks to remain outside of gambling sites in the US, forecasting only Florida to add online casino gaming through the end of 2027.
With the map frozen, the pressure showed up elsewhere. States that already permit wagering moved to take more of it, with North Carolina raising its sports betting tax to 23% in its budget. Money also moved outside the regulated system as federally overseen prediction markets expanded.