Philly is now the No. 1 market for online gambling companies.
Philadelphia has become the No. 1 market for online gambling. The Philadelphia media market, which encompasses the city, southeastern Pennsylvania, central and southern New Jersey, has become the capital of online gambling in the United States.
The Philadelphia media market has outpaced New York City and Las Vegas in online gambling advertisement, with more than $37 million spent on ads between January and September, according to data.
In 2024, internet gaming and sports wagering revenues alone topped $6 billion in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This was an increase from about $3.6 billion in 2021.
Over the same period, the number of calls and texts to the gambling helpline rose in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Calls about online gambling rose significantly more. There was a 180% increase in calls in Pennsylvania, and a 160% increase in New Jersey over that period.
In 2019, only about one in ten callers in Pennsylvania said online gambling was their main issue. The gambling landscape today is far different.
Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University found that as many as 30% of Pennsylvania adults now gamble on online sports regularly. As many as 6% of Pennsylvanians are estimated to be problem gamblers.
Across both states, callers reported that they had lost their homes to bank foreclosure, drained retirement accounts, or used entire paychecks on gambling.
“We [also] have people who call us and say, ‘I think I’m doing this too much. I think I need a little bit of help,’” said Josh Ercole, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania, in a recent interview.
Online betting now accounts for nearly half of all gambling revenue in Pennsylvania. A total of $165 million in gambling taxes was drawn in just last year. Five years prior, this amount was only $46 million.
Business has even dropped at brick-and-mortar casinos with the growing popularity of online betting from people’s cell phones.
The numbers are reflective of a growing problem. Online gambling is making betting more accessible to people, causing an explosion of mental health cases relating to gambling.
