Sports betting is one of the biggest boons in new tax revenue that many states are reaping, but not all states allow gambling, and those states are missing out on a vast new revenue stream.
As Breitbart Sports reported in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed federal bans on sports gambling, allowing the states to begin setting up approved sportsbooks and, of course, taxing the outcome.
Since the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association ruling, nearly half the states launched headlong into sports betting, and these early birds raked in billions in revenue.
The biggest states for sports gambling tax revenue are Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Nevada pulled in more than $61 million in taxes last year, while New Jersey saw $118 million. Pennsylvania reaped the biggest reward with an additional $124 million in new tax dollars, according to LeagalSportsReport.com.
Sports gambling is still in its infancy in most states that have moved to legalize sports betting. But all of them have realized millions in new taxes.
Other notable takes include the $40.3 million in Illinois, Delaware’s $38 million, the $26.5 million Rhode Island gained, and the $26 million Indiana earned.
To show how quickly the numbers mount, Tennessee only approved mobile sports apps on November one, but the state has already earned $15.5 million in new taxes.
Tax rates vary from the lowest rate in Colorado with 6.2 percent to Washington D.C.’s whopping 15.5 percent tax rate. Most of the states are charging between 6.2 and 8.1 percent, but some are much higher, including Arkansas (13.8), Delaware (15.3), Mississippi (11.6), and D.C. (15.5).
A nice little graph from Roundhill Investments shows some of the states and the revenue they have earned:
Sports betting by state since the repeal of PASPA three years ago 📊
h/t @axios pic.twitter.com/YaA6MUQbti
— Roundhill Investments (@roundhill) May 17, 2021
The only other fairly new tax boon state governments have realized is the taxes earned on the sale of marijuana. Both Colorado and California, for instance, have taken in over one billion in taxes from marijuana sales in the last year alone.
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