Current US Illegal Market 2016
US Illegal Sports Betting Market
2016 ($bn)
Handle Hold Percentage
(GGR Margin) GGR Handle as % of
Total Market
Offshore Online Sports (Grey Market)
Black Market Online Sports
Total Illegal Online Sports Betting Market
Black Market Land-based Sports 18.9
141.9
160.8
35.5 4.8%
5.3%
5.3%
5.3% 0.9
7.6
8.5
1.9 10%
69%
79%
17%
Total Illegal Sports Betting Market 196.2 5.3% 10.4 97%
Source: H2 Gambling Capital, 2017
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For the purposes of this deep dive, H2 defines the US ‘Illegal’ market as total ‘grey’ and ‘black’ market activity combined, land-
based and online. This is primarily to match the current definition in use by the American Gaming Association – and its widely
publicised estimate number of $150bn handle (source: American Gaming Association, 2016).
H2 calculates the 2016 US illegal market to be significantly higher - at $196.2bn handle (or $10.4bn GGR).
By way of context, this is over 47x the current US legal sports betting market, or nearly 1.5x the total handle for all gambling taking
place on the Nevada Las Vegas Strip in 2016.
Of this 2016