While legal and regulated online sports betting is close to a saturation point, with nearly 40 states now offering action, it’s a completely different landscape in the online casino realm. And there’s really no sign of there being a shift in this paradigm in the near future, which is making the advent of new online casinos entering the US and NJ market remote for the time being.
Just seven states currently offer legal and regulated online casino gambling in the USA – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. Until more states are willing to extend an olive branch to the concept of legalized online casino gambling, the chances of new casinos arriving in the US market are slim.
The one betting site that seems to be in progressive mode in terms of expansion is Bet365. Taking a measured approach when first entering the US market, Bet365 was slow to jump into the fray. However, the British gambling powerhouse was certainly flexing its muscles in 2024. Bet365 entered five new markets, upping their overall presence to 11 states. Among the new launches was a Bet365 online casino that went live in Pennsylvania in July.
Which New Casinos Could Be Coming To The US Market In 2025?
If new markets begin to open their arms to welcome legal and regulated online casino gambling, expect the industry leaders such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM to lead the charge into these new markets. Right with them will be Bet365, Caesars and probably ESPN Bet and Fanatics. Both of those latter gambling companies are new to the game and anxious to grow their brands.
Where might those opportunities to launch new online casinos be coming to fruition? Massachusetts is set to revisit the idea of legalizing online casino gambling in 2025. Missouri recently voted to allow the legalization of online gambling. Will that legalization include online casinos? FanDuel and DraftKings were among the main lobbyists seeking to move this vote forward in the Show Me State.
Another possibility is New York. There are always pro-gambling politicians in the State Assembly seeking to move the needle to add legal online casino gambling to the online sports betting that was previously given legal and regulated status in the Empire State. And New York has held firm on a limited total of nine licenses. There’s also a movement seeking to increase that total, which would open the door to new casinos in the Empire State, if the license increase was tied to the legalization of online casino gambling.
In terms of new, there wasn’t a lot of other significant movement on that front in the past year. Jackpot City launched an online casino in Pennsylvania in December of 2023.
Of late, there’s been more of a theme of everything old being new again within the legal and regulated US online casino industry. ESPN Bet took over the Barstool brand, launching in November of 2023. And Fanatics usurped PointsBet in the USA, converting all operations to the Fanatics brand by early 2024.
Attrition The Story Of 2024
Since legal and regulated online gambling exploded across the US with the 2018 Supreme Court decision to overturn the Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), there was an immediate proliferation of online sports betting apps and casino sites.
Industry experts were predicting right off the bat that there would eventually be a consolidation of these sites as the market dictated which brands would be the survivors in the race for the gambling dollar. Evidence of this trend developing began in 2023 and was picking up steam in 2024.
Consolidation of and departures from the market were the overlying trend that was in evidence in the legal and regulated US online casino market during the calendar year of 2024.
FOXBet, WynnBET, Fubo, Unibet and PointsBet are among the online casino sites that have chosen to cease their US operation in recent years. Betway was opting to shutter its online sportsbook operation in the US market. However, Betway maintains its online casino presence in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
As mentioned previously, Fanatics has taken over the PointsBet sites and operates online casinos in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, so that wasn’t technically the loss of an online casino site as much as it was a switch in branding. In yet another switch in branding, Penn National Gaming was ending its partnership with Barstool and forming a new partnership with ESPN Bet. Penn operates the Hollywood Casino in partnership with ESPN Bet sites in states where online casinos are also legal.
Meanwhile, BetMGM absorbed the Tipico brand. Through its subsidiary LeoVegas, BetMGM acquired Tipico’s product and technology platform for both their US sportsbook and online casino.
Caesars also underwent a branding change. They rebooted their online casinos as Caesars Palace. The hope is that by connecting to their most famous land-based casino in Las Vegas, it will bring more familiarity to customers seeking out an online casino to frequent.
Another well-known online casino site, 888 Holdings, previously sold its US online casino sites to SI Casino. They’d also once operated as Twin Spires. However, even with the backing of such a prominent and historic brand as Sports Illustrated, they’ve been unable to make inroads.
The SI Casino is scheduled to be shuttering its online casino operation in the state of Michigan in the first quarter of 2025
Hard Rock Set To Move In
The demise of the SI Casino will be opening up access to an available online casino license in Michigan and it’s the Hard Rock that is poised to move in and set up operations in the Wolverine State.
The Hard Rock has already acquired the US assets of 888 Holdings. The only holdup to their arrival in Michigan is the need to secure a license to operate an online casino in the state. There are published reports that Hard Rock will partner with the Hannahville tribe, which currently has an open license. It appears as though the SI Casino may continue to operate in Michigan until the Hard Rock is positioned to step in and make it a relatively seamless takeover.
Caesars Launches Horseshoe Casino
Caesars added another online casino to its stable. The major player in the gambling industry was launching Horseshoe Casino in early November of 2024.
So far, the Horseshoe Casino is live in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Caesars is using the license acquired from WynnBET to launch this new online casino brand.
Bally Bet Suggests Live Dealer Only Online Casinos
Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s, believes he has a solution that could end the gridlock of governments refusing to offer legalization of online casino gambling in their state. His answer? Live dealer only online casinos.
Choo believes that government resistance in moving toward offering legal and regulated online casino gambling has much to do with the fear of addiction to gambling. And he thinks the root of that fear is based on how easily and quickly you can lose money while playing an online slot game.
With a live dealer casino, there are no slot games. Only table and card games are accessible, so the pace of game play is much different. And with actual humans operating as dealers and croupiers through the live stream that players are accessing, there’s more of a social element, which also impacts the pace of play. There’s an interactive element to a live dealer game. You’re not simply relying on an algorithm to control your casino game play while you sit there constantly pushing a button to again spin the reels.
In short, Choo believes the environment of a live dealer studio is not as conducive to players losing money hand over first in a matter of moments. And he thinks that concept would be easier to sell to politicians currently resistant to legalizing online casino gambling.
This live dealer only format is being followed in Rhode Island, the most recent state to legalize online casino gambling. Bally’s controls all of the online casino action in the state. All of the live dealer games are streamed online from within the state through Bally Casino Twin River Lincoln. That, says Kim, is another selling point of live dealer only operations. The casinos are actually employing local people to staff the games, so there’s a job creation element, which politicians always love to be able to sell to the masses.
New Online Casinos and Expansions in 2025:
- Hard Rock Online Casino – Entering Michigan (pending license approval).
- Brand New Caesars’ Horseshoe Casino – Expanded online platform now live in MI, PA, WV and NJ.
- Fanatics Casino – Rebranded from PointsBet, operating in NJ, PA, MI; further expansion expected.
- Massachusetts – Reviewing online casino legalization; potential new market.
- Missouri – Approved online gambling; awaiting details on online casino inclusion.
- New York – Potential expansion of online casino licenses under consideration.
