Unlicensed online gambling generated an estimated $97.4 billion in US gross gaming revenue (GGR) during 2025, according to new research from Gaming Compliance International (GCI), commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG). The figure gives unlicensed operators a claimed 77% share of the US online gambling market.
Unlicensed growth outpaced the licensed market
GCI put licensed online gambling revenue at $28.3 billion for 2025, up 23% from $23 billion in 2024. Unlicensed GGR grew 45.2% over the same period, from $67.1 billion to $97.4 billion. Combined online gambling GGR reached $125.6 billion, up 39.4% from $90.1 billion in 2024.
Unlicensed platforms’ share of that combined total rose from a claimed 74% in 2024 to 77% in 2025. GCI’s report argues that legal sports betting and online casino expansion has not moved enough consumers into licensed channels to close the gap between the two sectors, even as more states legalize one or both products each year.
Derek Webb, who funds the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said:
“The legal sector uses the presence of the illicit sector to demand legalisation, then asks for low tax and regulation to compete against the illicit sector. Taking action against bad actors in the illicit sector is the solution and must be the priority for all stakeholders.”
Webb has funded CFG’s opposition to wider gambling expansion in the US for several years, including its earlier reports on illegal streaming and offshore operators.
State Loss Ratios track the gap by regulatory model
GCI uses what it calls a Loss Ratio, a measure of online gambling GGR per person set against income per person, to compare states. States that regulate both sports betting and online casino gaming averaged a 1.38% Loss Ratio in 2025. States that regulate sports betting only averaged 0.99%, and states offering neither product averaged 0.44%, according to the report.
Unlicensed activity showed up under every regulatory model GCI tracked. Sports betting only states recorded the highest average unlicensed Loss Ratio, at 0.80%. States with both products averaged 0.67% on the unlicensed measure, and states with neither averaged 0.44%, entirely attributed to unlicensed activity since no licensed alternative exists there.
Louisiana recorded the highest unlicensed gambling expenditure relative to income of any state in the report. West Virginia posted a total Loss Ratio of 1.57%, of which 0.87 percentage points came from unlicensed gambling. California, which regulates neither online casino gaming nor sports betting, recorded a 0.43% Loss Ratio, all of it attributed by GCI to unlicensed activity.
Funding and methodology
The Campaign for Fairer Gambling commissioned and funded the study. Independent access to GCI’s underlying data and methodology remains limited, and GCI’s estimates of unregulated gambling markets have faced questions over previous assessments. That caveat matters because the same figures are already being cited in state-level tax and enforcement debates, where GGR and Loss Ratio estimates carry direct weight in arguments over licensing terms.
Webb’s position is that enforcement against unlicensed operators, rather than further tax and licensing concessions to the regulated sector, is the fix for the widening gap. Similar enforcement pushes are already under way outside the US: Dutch regulators have flagged illegal casinos targeting CRUKS-banned gamblers on Meta, and Romania’s National Office for Gambling (ONJN) has blacklisted nearly 800 illegal gambling sites this year.
The report’s figures will likely feed into state legislative sessions in 2026, where lawmakers weigh new sports betting and online casino bills against arguments that unlicensed platforms, including offshore sportsbooks and prediction markets, already capture most of the online market regardless of what states legalize. Whether that argument shifts legislators toward enforcement funding or toward faster licensing of new products remains an open question heading into next year’s sessions.
Source: Gaming Compliance International
