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The US iGaming industry continued to beat expectations in March, pulling in $715 million in gross gaming revenue. It should easily beat $8 billion in total revenue for 2024, as it is just shy of $2 billion through one quarter and still growing rapidly.
One likely reason for the overall market growth is the success of FanDuel Casino in bolstering its revenue. It has become the market leader in the Michigan online casino market and expanded its share significantly in other states.
We estimate that FanDuel-operated casino sites across all states increased their monthly total by $70 million from March 2023 to March 2024. That accounts for almost half of the total annual growth for the US market over that period.
Although individual brands’ market shares aren’t visible in all states, the available data makes it hard to envision a scenario in which FanDuel isn’t the iGaming market leader for the US.
FanDuel’s Growing Market Share
Last month, we reported that FanDuel was on the cusp of overtaking BetMGM in Michigan. That has now happened, making it the first time anyone other than BetMGM has held the market lead in that state’s history.
The biggest gap between the two operators’ market shares came in August 2021, when the market was just over half a year old. At that point, BetMGM Online Casino briefly held more than 40% of revenue while FanDuel was below 15%.
FanDuel now has a 26.8% market share compared to BetMGM’s 25.4%. DraftKings, with which FanDuel was once neck-and-neck, remains at 18.8%.
FanDuel has been growing at a blistering pace in Michigan since late 2022, averaging nearly 60% annual growth.
It has done even better in Pennsylvania, averaging nearly 70% annual growth over the same period and increasing its market share from around 20% to 28%. It is very likely the market leader there as well. However, the licensing structure makes it impossible to say for sure — ignoring smaller skins and assuming the current 36.6% market share for the Penn National license is split evenly between DraftKings and BetMGM, it is nearly 10 percentage points ahead of either of them.
FanDuel-Powered Mohegan Could Overtake DraftKings in CT
Another market leadership race emerged suddenly in March, as DraftKings Casino’s share of the Connecticut market plummeted. Its sole competitor, Mohegan Sun Online Casino, is built on FanDuel’s technology.
Historically, DraftKings has generated from about 55% to 60% of the Nutmeg State’s iGaming revenue. It dropped over seven percentage points in March, from 58.6% to 51.3%.
For the market’s first year, DraftKings outspent Mohegan Sun on promotions by a wide margin. It cut back significantly starting in January 2023 and, to date, has managed to avoid losing too much market share.
However, that has required some fine-tuning, with a bump in spending each time its share has dropped. Mohegan Sun has been trying to seize the opportunity by increasing its own spending and now outspends DraftKings.
It remains to be seen whether the March swing is merely a blip. If not, however, it could be that Connecticut players have twigged to the reversal in the two operators’ bonusing strategy.
Online Gambling Revenue Highlights — March 2024
Pennsylvania
- PA’s online casinos and poker rooms won $233.1 million in March 2024, up 28.4% year-over-year. Although that’s a slower rate than in February, the Keystone State continues to outpace New Jersey and Michigan.
- The daily average revenue was $7.5 million, up 1.3% from February. That’s similar to the monthly growth rate in March last year.
- After the first quarter, Pennsylvania is the state most aligned with PlayUSA’s revenue projections. It beat the March forecast by 2.6% but is still only 1.1% ahead of expected revenue for the year to date.
- As mentioned, FanDuel has been outperforming the market in Pennsylvania as in other states. Its monthly growth for March was 7.0%, its annual growth is now 76.2%, and it holds a 28.1% market share.
- The market share for the Rivers master license has been slipping, down about four percentage points year-over-year. It recovered half a point in March, but it’s too early to call that a reversal of the trend.
Michigan
- Michigan iGaming sites won $215.2 million in March 2024, up 25.2% year-over-year. That’s the fastest annual growth rate the state has experienced since September and marks seven percentage points of acceleration over the past two months.
- The daily average revenue was $6.9 million, up 7.0% from February. That’s the biggest bump yet seen in March for Michigan, except for March 2021, when the market was just two months old.
- This hot performance has made Michigan the top state for per capita monthly revenue: about $21.50 per resident to New Jersey’s $21.30 and Pennsylvania’s $18.00.
- Michigan began 2024 with revenue in line with PlayUSA’s forecast but has been pulling away and beat the March projection by 10.7%. Year-to-date, Michigan is now 5.5% ahead of the forecast.
- Golden Nugget Michigan continues to yo-yo but is now on the upswing. Its revenue leaped 56.2% in March after plunging 27.1% in February, bringing its market share back up to 3.6%.
- Fanatics and Soaring Eagle saw significant increases in revenue comparable to Golden Nugget’s, and it was a good month for smaller operators overall.
New Jersey
- New Jersey’s gambling sites won $197.2 million in March 2024, up 19.0% year-over-year. Things are slowing down for the Garden State, as that’s the weakest growth rate since November, and it has fallen behind Michigan in per capita revenue.
- As a daily average, NJ online casinos and poker room revenue was $6.4 million, a mere 1.2% increase from February, making it the slowest-growing market except for Connecticut, which contracted.
- Now that market share for individual brands is visible in New Jersey, we see the same close three-way race between BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings. Taking all BetMGM-operated brands together, it’s the narrow market leader, but all three operators hover at around 21%.
- All other operators held a combined 26.2% of the market in Q1, which is more than we see in Michigan, but perhaps to be expected because the number of small sites is greater.
Connecticut
- Connecticut’s two online casinos won $44.3 million in March 2024. Although the 28.1% annual growth rate still compares favorably to the larger markets, it’s the slowest the Nutmeg State has seen since it launched.
- Although the state’s iGaming revenue rose by about half a million in dollar terms, that represents a 5.2% slowdown in daily average revenue to $1.4 million.
- DraftKings’ daily average revenue slipped 17.0% in March, while FanDuel gained 11.5%, leading to the swing in market share discussed above.
West Virginia
- West Virginia’s monthly online casino revenue cracked the $20 million mark for the first time, reaching $20.7 million in March 2024. The annual growth rate is back up to 45.0%, the highest since June 2023, after falling to as low as 19.0% at one point.
- The daily average WV online casino revenue was $667,109, a monthly increase of 10.8%. That’s the hottest month of any state market except Delaware.
- The Charles Town license added 18.0% to its daily average revenue, separating itself from the former market leader Greenbrier. Charles Town now holds 41.7% of the market to Greenbrier’s 38.9%.
Delaware
- Delaware’s online casinos generated $4.6 million in March 2024, continuing the hot performance since BetRivers took over from 888.
- With a daily average of $149,399, the monthly growth rate has dropped to 12.0%. Though still the fastest of any state, it’s now much more in line with the likes of West Virginia, which may mean we’ve already seen the bulk of the gains the switch to BetRivers will bring.
US Online Gambling Revenue Summary Table
| State | GGR - March 2024 | Monthly Change | Annual Change | Month vs. Forecast | Full Year Total | Year vs. Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $233,087,604 | +1.3% | +28.4% | +2.6% | $637,678,919 | +1.1% |
| Michigan | $215,153,826 | +7.0% | +25.2% | +10.7% | $585,067,849 | +5.5% |
| New Jersey | $197,195,071 | +1.6% | +19.0% | +5.5% | $561,798,374 | +5.6% |
| Connecticut | $44,297,942 | -5.2% | +28.1% | -4.5% | $129,503,414 | -1.2% |
| West Virginia | $20,680,382 | +10.8% | +45.0% | +12.7% | $54,507,697 | +8.1% |
| Delaware | $4,631,369 | +12.0% | +224.7% | +208.8% | $11,910,166 | +164.7% |
| US Total | $715,046,194 | +2.9% | +25.6% | +5.6% | $1,980,466,419 | +3.8% |
Notes on the Data
- Raw data for this article comes from reports issued by the state regulators: the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Michigan Gaming Control Board, West Virginia Lottery, Delaware Lottery, and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.
- 2024 online gambling revenue projections are original calculations performed by Alex Weldon as a collaboration between Bonus.com and PlayUSA. Please cite PlayUSA and Alex Weldon if reporting projected numbers or market performance compared to the projections.
- Monthly growth figures are adjusted for the number of days in the month. That is, they represent the change in daily average revenue, not full-month gross revenue.
- West Virginia reports revenue weekly, not monthly. Its monthly totals are an estimate, assuming that revenue for partial weeks is distributed evenly between the seven days.
- Pennsylvania only reports adjusted revenue (gross revenue, less promotional spending). Gross slots revenue is calculated by subtracting payouts from wagers, but no such data is available for table games and poker. Therefore, actual gross revenue is probably somewhat higher than what we report.
Previous Monthly Trends
- February 2024 — FanDuel Poised To Overtake BetMGM In Michigan As Online Casinos See Strong Start To 2024
- January 2024 — Slow January Revenue Is Becoming A Feature Of The US Online Casino Market
- December 2023 — US Online Casinos End 2023 on Target With $6.5B Revenue
- November 2023 — American Online Casino Gamblers Break Records in November
- October 2023 — West Virginia Online Casinos Surge in October, Change in Market Leadership Likely
- September 2023 — US Online Casino Revenue Growth Is Accelerating for the First Time in Years
Keep track of current US legislation through PlayUSA’s online casino bill tracker.
