iGaming: An Uncertain Path to Expansion
As legal sports betting swept across the United States starting in 2018, many gambling industry proponents expected online casino to follow.
While legislatures have entertained bills over the past few years, only seven states have legalized online casino operations. Multiple industry sources say 2026 legislative sessions could see an uptick in conversations about online casino legalization, but they predict few, if any, will come close to passing.
“States are thinking about it,” says industry consultant John Pappas. “A few that pushed their discussions will come up again, like Indiana, Virginia, Maryland and New York. They will have robust discussions on what an iGaming state would look like.
“It’s hard to handicap where it could cross the finish line.”
Those four states all saw legislation introduced in 2025 and will likely see more in the upcoming session. And more legislatures could see proposals as well. In 2025, lawmakers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wyoming also discussed expansion.
Online gambling has encountered strengthened headwinds the past two years, with sports betting now nearly ubiquitous and sports-related scandals emerging, including an NBA-linked gambling scheme that resulted in arrests in October. Lawmakers opposed to the idea of expanding casinos online have warned against the problem gambling implications. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has been a strong voice against the issue, even as legislators from his own Republican Party have advocated for expansion and introduced bills backing it.
“To put a casino in everybody’s hands 24/7 is probably not a great idea, and I think it will cause more pain and suffering in regard to gaming addiction,” DeWine said this summer. “So I’m just not for it.”
While lawmakers might be wary of putting slot machines in constituents’ pockets, they are also struggling with budget shortfalls. Some could see online casino as a way to quickly inject state coffers with tax revenue, something Illinois Governor JB Pritzker hinted at this year before lawmakers decided to further increase the tax burden on online sportsbooks. Pritzker said online casino legalization was “worthy of consideration” ahead of the state’s budget process.
The talks are also likely to heat up as industry stakeholders suggest online gambling options are already rampant, even if they’re not legal. At October’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, multiple panels discussed the gray market, dual-currency sweepstakes and Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated prediction markets, which are accessible to users across the country. Multiple state legislatures took notice and passed sweepstakes prohibitions in 2025, and other state regulators sent more than 100 cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes operators.
“What drove this growth in such a short period of time is not going away,” Howard Glaser, global head of government affairs and legislative counsel at Light & Wonder, said during a G2E panel on sweepstakes. “That is the consumer desire to play real-money games.
“The content and the technology is available. There are operators that are ready to do so outside the bounds of the law. We have essentially, outside of seven states, a 1920s-style prohibition on online casino gaming. But unlike having to deliver alcohol, online casino appears in your home, on your phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Outside of potential problem gambling issues, legalization brings up multiple questions lawmakers must grapple with, mainly potential cannibalization of brick-and-mortar casino revenue. That’s been a focus point in Maryland hearings during the past two sessions.
It’s also a main concern raised by the National Association Against iGaming, an industry group launched this year led by several regional casino operators, including the Cordish Companies and Churchill Downs Inc.
Online casino expansion is not a simple proposition for lawmakers, and many industry stakeholders are doubtful that any major legislation will pass in a mid-term election year. Still, there will be plenty of discussion about online casino across the United States in 2026.
“Maybe two or three legislatures make a serious push, not just a bill hitting the floor,” one industry source told GGB. “Maybe one bill that passes a chamber. Do I think any pass? The odds are slim.”
