Sports Betting Soaring Nationwide

Tennessee announced Tuesday that it’s the quickest state to reach $1 billion in sports wagers — just six months after launching sports betting in the state.

What’s happening in Tennessee is comparable to what’s been unfolding across the U.S.

Here’s where other states’ sports wagers stood after six months of operations:

• New Jersey (9 casinos): $928 million
• Indiana (14 casinos): $794 million
• Colorado (35 casinos): $670 million

Colorado reached its first full year of sports betting earlier this week. The state recorded $2.3 billion in total wagers in its first 12 months.

Twenty-six states and Washington, D.C., have legalized sports gambling so far.

Six-month totals drop off a bit after the top four states. Mississippi, for example, brought in around $194 million in the six months after it legalized in August 2018 — before the industry exploded the way it has in the last year.

Another factor: Tennessee only permits mobile betting, while Mississippi explicitly forbids it.

Despite the state-to-state nuances, there’s plenty of money to be made across the country. Goldman Sachs predicts that the betting market will be worth almost $40 billion by 2033.