The monstrous illegal betting business in the United States: US$97.4 billion in 2025 – CodigoPoker

The business of illegal betting in the United States reached a gigantic scale during 2025. According to a new report prepared by Gaming Compliance International (GCI) and commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, unlicensed online operators generated approximately US$97.4 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the past year.

The figure represents 77% of the entire US online gaming market, which reached US$125.6 billion in GGR during 2025. In other words, according to this study, almost eight out of every ten dollars generated by online gaming in the United States ended up with operators who were not licensed in the states where they attracted their customers.

The data also shows that the problem did not diminish with the expansion of regulated markets. On the contrary, the illegal segment grew even faster.

The illegal market grew 45% in one year

In 2024, GCI had estimated US$67.1 billion in revenues for unlicensed online operators. One year later, that figure climbed to US$97.4 billion, representing a growth of 45.2%.

The regulated market also grew, although at a considerably slower pace: it went from US$23.0 billion in 2024 to US$28.3 billion in 2025, an increase of 23%.

Together, the US online market went from US$90.1 billion to US$125.6 billion, a growth of 39.4% in just one year.

The difference between the two segments is one of the most striking data points in the report: the illegal market grew almost twice as fast as the regulated one.

GCI’s analysis covers different forms of online gaming, including sports betting, online casinos, poker, lotteries, and cryptocurrency gambling.

The organization considers an unregulated operator to be a platform that conducts transactions and actively targets consumers in a particular state without holding a local license. The study includes websites and apps, as well as access through mirrors and redirects.

The US market has a particularity that helps explain the scale of the phenomenon: regulation depends on each state. While some allow sports betting and online casinos, others have much more restricted markets.

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This fragmentation leaves room for offshore operators who can offer products to players in jurisdictions where certain modalities are still not authorized.

A figure that sparks debate

The figures in the GCI report are enormous, but there is no absolute consensus on the size of the illegal US market.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) published a study in August 2025 with a different methodology and estimated US$53.9 billion in annual revenues for the illegal and unregulated US market. Within that calculation, it estimated US$18.6 billion for illegal online casinos and US$5.0 billion for illegal sports betting.

The difference is explained, among other issues, by the different methodologies and the scope of activities each study includes. Therefore, the US$97.4 billion should be presented as GCI’s estimate, and not as an official figure from the US government.

The data opens an important debate in the United States: is the expansion of regulated markets managing to take players away from the illegal circuit, or are both markets growing simultaneously?

According to GCI, unlicensed operators went from representing 74% of online GGR in 2024 to 77% in 2025, while the regulated sector reduced its share from 26% to 23%.

The report states that the expansion of the legal offer has not managed to contain the growth of unlicensed platforms, which continue to offer players products and markets that are not always available from authorized operators.

The problem is not only economic. Illegal operators are outside the same controls of licenses, consumer protection, responsible gaming, oversight, and taxes that regulated companies must comply with.

And here lies the big question for the US industry: while states continue expanding their legal markets, the underground circuit keeps growing at an even faster pace.

According to GCI’s estimate, in 2025 this parallel business already reached a staggering figure: US$97.4 billion in revenues and 77% of the entire US online market.

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