Commercial US sportsbooks kept $16.96 billion from bettors in 2025 on $166.94 billion wagered, and paid $3.71 billion in state taxes, according to the American Gaming Association. All of it traces back to May 14, 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in Murphy v. NCAA.
Before that ruling, in the Court’s words, Nevada was “the only state venue for legal sports gambling in casinos.” This page explains what PASPA did, what the Court decided, and what the regulated market looks like now in the AGA’s own numbers.
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What PASPA banned
PASPA made it unlawful for a state “to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize by law or compact” a betting scheme based on sporting events. It did not make sports betting a federal crime for the person placing the bet. Instead, it let the Attorney General and the sports leagues sue to stop a state that tried.
The law carried “grandfather” provisions. Nevada’s casino sportsbooks could keep operating, and so could the sports lotteries or pools that three other states already ran. New Jersey was given a year to legalize betting in Atlantic City and did not use it.
How New Jersey took it to the Supreme Court
New Jersey voters later approved a change to the state constitution, and the legislature legalized sports betting in Atlantic City and at racetracks in 2012. The NCAA and three major professional leagues sued and won. In 2014 the state tried a different route: instead of authorizing sportsbooks, it repealed its own ban for bettors 21 and older at Atlantic City casinos and horse racing tracks.
The case was argued on December 4, 2017, and decided on May 14, 2018. The Court held that PASPA broke the Constitution’s anticommandeering principle, the rule that Congress cannot give orders to state legislatures. Justice Alito wrote the opinion; Justice Ginsburg dissented, joined by Justice Sotomayor and in part by Justice Breyer. The key line is short: “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.”
What the regulated market looks like now
The AGA’s annual tracker for 2025, released on February 26, 2026, puts the whole US commercial gaming industry at a record $78.72 billion in revenue, up 9.2% on 2024, with $18.09 billion paid in gaming taxes. Sports betting was the fastest-growing piece after iGaming.
| Sports betting, 2025 | Figure | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Handle (amount wagered) | $166.94 billion | +11.0% |
| Revenue kept by books | $16.96 billion | +22.8% |
| State taxes paid | $3.71 billion | +32.4% |
| Hold | 10.16% | +0.98 points |
Online betting was 96.5% of sports betting revenue. New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Ohio were the four largest markets in both 2024 and 2025, and Missouri opened in December 2025 and was the fifth largest market by revenue that month. In 12 states, most commercial gaming revenue now comes from online sports betting or iGaming.
The latest month
The newest AGA monthly figures, for July 2026, show sports betting revenue up 27.0% to $1.27 billion on $11.60 billion in handle, a 31.9% rise that the AGA puts down to the World Cup. Regulated gaming paid $1.42 billion in state gaming taxes that month.
The AGA also argues that prediction market platforms offering sports contracts outside state regulation have cost states tax revenue: more than $500 million in potential sports betting tax, by its estimate in the 2025 release. That is the industry group’s figure and its position.
The AGA’s press release on the 2025 figures links the full report. For the betting side, start with our sportsbook reviews and the betting guides, or follow our college football coverage.