Digital Wager Wire highlights the most significant events affecting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industries each week throughout the year.
Offshore Sportsbooks Remain Top Choice for Super Bowl Betting
The United States has witnessed a surge in mainstream sports betting, with licensed sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings capturing approximately three-quarters of the market. However, offshore sportsbooks continue to be the sports bettors’ preference, as estimates are that $4.8 billion, or 75%, of the projected $6.5 billion wagered on Super Bowl 60 in the US will be facilitated through offshore sportsbooks.
The licensed sports betting market in the USA only began in 2018 after the Supreme Court struck down PASPA, the federal law prohibiting sports betting in all but a few jurisdictions, namely Nevada. However, New Jersey spearheaded the effort to get the law overturned, and only months after it achieved its goal, the Garden State launched its own sports betting industry.
What was initially a trickle of states welcoming sports betting became a deluge once lawmakers realized the vast revenue potential that could be tapped via licensing fees and taxes. At this point, 39 states have adopted retail and/or mobile sports betting, with Missouri being the latest to launch in December 2025.
However, offshore sportsbooks, operating since the 1990s, have entrenched themselves in the American sports betting market. Established offshore sports betting platforms like BetOnline, Bookmaker, Bovada, and Heritage Sports, had been operating for decades and cultivated a loyal following.
Many of the bonuses and promotions found offshore cannot be matched by the domestic operators, while the odds are also generally more generous than those found in the US. Moreover, many of the offshore sportsbooks allow those 18 or older to wager, compared to the minimum age of 21 at US sportsbooks.
Missouri Reports Nearly Half a Billion Haul in Opening Month
It took a long time to get here, but sports betting in the Show Me State has arrived. And if the first month is any indication, it will be a resounding success, as Missourians wagered $543 million in December. Of that figure, 99% was bet online, while retail sportsbooks captured the remaining one percent.
Due to generous bonuses, which included free bets for first-time signups, the write-offs allowed the sportsbooks to avoid paying taxes on the $104 million that was won. Missouri has a relatively low 10% tax rate and collected only $521,200 in tax revenue for the inaugural month.
Those introductory perks will ultimately be sunsetted, and the sportsbooks will no longer get the benefit of those write-offs. However, it does allow them to woo customers to their platforms, and it was no surprise that FanDuel and DraftKings captured 75% of the Missouri market in the opening month, nearly identical to their nationwide market share.
State Representative Betsy Fogle, who sits on the House Budget Committee, shared her opinion on the short take by the state’s tax coffers, remarking, “I guess it’s not super surprising to me that we haven’t seen real dollars work their way into our revenue streams yet, and I would anticipate that those would increase as those promotionals have gone away.”
