If U.S. States Were Countries, 7 Would Rank in the Global iGaming Top 10, Blask Data Shows
This reframes how operators, suppliers, and investors should think about the American opportunity: not as a single expansion play, but as a continent of high-value micro-markets.
The United States is not a single online gambling market. It is 50 separate regulatory economies operating under a shared federal umbrella, and several of them are large enough to rival entire nations. According to Blask’s 2025 U.S. iGaming landscape analysis, seven individual U.S. states would rank among the global top 10 markets by Competitive Earning Baseline* (CEB) if measured as standalone countries.
This reframes how operators, suppliers, and investors should think about the American opportunity: not as a single expansion play, but as a continent of high-value micro-markets. At the national level, the U.S. online gambling market reached approximately $79.8B in 2025, nearly seven times the size of the United Kingdom, the second-largest regulated market globally.
But the more revealing comparison emerges at the state level.
New York: A top-5 global market
If New York were a country, it would rank fifth globally by CEB sitting between Turkey and Brazil. With an estimated ~$6.4B market size by CEB, New York alone surpasses many established European jurisdictions. Yet roughly 60% of that value flows offshore due to the absence of regulated online casinos, highlighting how regulatory structure shapes economic capture within markets of national scale.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Italy-scale economies
New Jersey, the first U.S. state to legalize online casinos in 2013, would rank eighth globally if measured independently just between Australia and India. Pennsylvania would rank seventh, positioned between Italy and Australia. Both states generate market volumes comparable to major European economies, underscoring how mature U.S. jurisdictions have evolved into globally competitive ecosystems in their own right.
Michigan and California: major markets with divergent models
Michigan, often cited as a model regulated market, would place ninth globally right between India and the Philippines. California, by contrast, remains fully unregulated yet would still rank among the global top 10 by market size, with approximately $5.5B in CEB. The contrast between these two states illustrates the defining characteristic of the U.S. system: scale exists independently of regulatory alignment.
Texas: A top-10 market without legalization
Texas, the second-largest fully unregulated market in the U.S., would also rank among the world’s largest jurisdictions if treated as a country, with approximately $4.2B in CEB. Despite its population size and strong sports culture, Texas has shown limited political appetite for legalization, further reinforcing the fragmentation of the American landscape.
One country, multiple economic realities
Seven individual U.S. states now operate at volumes comparable to global top-tier jurisdictions. For international operators, this means entry into the U.S. is a sequence of country-scale launches, each with distinct regulatory frameworks, tax structures, competitive landscapes, and offshore penetration rates.
For regulators, the comparison highlights the magnitude of economic activity occurring at the state level often rivaling entire national markets. For investors, it underscores why North America remains the most strategically significant region in global iGaming.
The United States is not merely the world’s largest online gambling market, but a collection of national-scale economies operating inside one border.
