Illegal iGaming in the US is growing twice as fast as the legal market

Gaming Compliance International says the US online gambling market reached $125.6 billion in 2025, up from $90.1 billion in 2024. The catch for PSPs and operators: the illegal segment is expanding faster than the regulated one, and it now accounts for most of the market.

1. According to Gaming Compliance International, illegal iGaming generated $67.1 billion in 2024 and $97.4 billion in 2025, a 45.2% annual increase. Over the same period, the legal segment rose 23%, from $23 billion to $28.3 billion.
2. That shift pushed the illegal share of the US online gaming market from 74% to 77% in just one year. For payment teams, that is the sort of ratio that changes how much volume sits outside regulated acquiring and how much pressure lands on compliance controls.
3. The report also gives the broader market picture: total US GGR was $90.1 billion in 2024 and $125.6 billion in 2025, with overall growth of 39.4%.
4. Another estimate, from The Innovation Group for AGA, came in much lower on the illegal share: 31.8%, or $53.9 billion, with $15.3 billion in lost taxes. Of that $53.9 billion, only $23.6 billion was attributed to gray iGaming.
5. The gap between the two studies comes down to methodology. Gaming Compliance International measures the internet environment, while The Innovation Group surveys players. Same market, different lens, very different number.

For high-risk PSPs, the practical takeaway is not that one study is "right" and the other is "wrong". It is that US online gambling is being measured with two very different yardsticks, and that any underwriting, routing, or risk decision depends on which part of the market you think you are looking at.