What does New Jersey lead the nation in for spending since 2018? Here's a hint: most of that spending took place right here in South Jersey.

If you guessed sports betting, you are correct!

In 2018 the Supreme Court removed the federal ban on sports betting, allowing states to legalize it if they choose. Since then, many states have legalized sports betting, and in the last four years, there has been significant growth.

Legal New Jersey online sportsbooks began taking bets in August 2018, two months after the law was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy. Since then New Jersey has seen a huge increase in wagers. Legal bets passed the $31 billion mark in just four years since legalization.

States report the amount of handle (total dollars wagered) and gross gaming revenue (total dollars won by a sportsbook) monthly.

Research by Sportsbook Review analyzed this data and calculated the states that have spent the most in total as well as breaking down the totals for 2021 and 2022.  

Americans went from wagering $44 billion in 2021 to a whopping $74 billion in 2022 – an increase of 70%! 

Here's the rest of America's top five states in sports wagering since 2018.

2- Nevada has had legal sports betting for decades and was the only state with legal sportsbooks until 2018. Nevada is one of the top destinations for sports betting and since 2018 has seen $27 billion be wagered.

3- Online sports betting has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2019 and since then over $17 billion has been wagered by Americans in the state. Pennsylvania bettors had wagered $5.7 billion for the year as of October 2022.

4- Illinois has seven live sportsbooks available, giving residents plenty of options to bet from anywhere. Illinoisans racked up over $7 billion in bets in 2022, up from $5 billion a year earlier. 

 5- It hasn't taken long for New Yorkers to show their love of sports betting. With nine sportsbooks kicking off online betting in 2022, NY has seen its handle grow from $176 million in 2021 to a nation-leading $14 billion in 2022 – an increase of 8,000%! 

In the first year after the Supreme Court ruling, legal US sportsbooks took in $9 billion, in 2022 over $74 billion was wagered, that’s a 744% increase in four years.  

Someone needs to point out that it’s important to be aware of the risks of gambling and never gamble if you can’t afford to lose the money.

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