Analyzing Win Rates Between Sports Bettors or iGamers: Who Wins More?
It would appear that sportsbooks are far more popular and reach the general public in more ways than before. Upon closer inspection, the iGaming platform allows customers to play more hands or spins in rapid succession, compared to the perceived “same old, same old” with sports betting.
The real question is: Which platform is more rewarding for players over time? And what does “winning” actually look like for the players and operators?
Sportsbooks v iGaming by Numbers
The gambling landscape in the United States has undergone massive growth since it first came onto the scene in 2018.
Some combination of retail or online sportsbooks is now in close to 40 U.S. states, with a little more than 30 having legal online sportsbooks. However, legal iGaming is only available in seven states, with Maine set to become the eighth next month.
Both platforms are incredibly popular across the country, with online sportsbooks taking in $13.1 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2025. In comparison, iGaming was a bit behind, at around $8.4 billion, despite being available in far fewer states.
Who’s the Big Winner: Sports Bettors or iGamers?
As the adage states, “Las Vegas wasn’t built on winners.” Or, as others like to say, “The house always wins”.
It’s funny because it’s true. I often think about how Las Vegas began as some place out in the desert with a few places to gamble, and now it is one of the most glitzy and glamorous places on Earth. Everything is bigger and brighter, and a lot of that comes from its visitors’ gambling losses.
When you think about it, there aren’t too many casinos going out of business, and a lot of them are adding either new restaurants or attractions via money from gamblers losing. One of the exceptions is in my neck of the woods (Atlantic City), but a big reason for the town’s decline is the state’s surge in legal online sportsbooks and iGaming from the get-go.
Sports Betting
Sports betting is a nice combination of skill and luck. As someone myself, I use so many different research methods daily to make better choices.
However, as anyone would know, that research doesn’t guarantee successful results; these are human-being outcomes we’re betting on. We don’t know whether a player is feeling down before a game or just not in it mentally, and there’s rarely a metric anyone can pin down that.
In 2025, the national hold on sports betting was just over 10%. A lot of that was driven by high-risk parlays, props, and last-gasp live bets, which gave the sportsbooks the upper hand on customers.
iGaming
While there is no single metric on iGaming player win rates, we can deduce that operators are getting anywhere from a 4-7% edge. iGaming offers a stronger mathematical edge than sports betting, and it certainly plays better for disciplined players. In comparison, I just noted that most of the money online sportsbooks make comes from those $5 and $10 wagers that have 15-legs on a parlay.
One of the key differences is that players can gain an edge based on game selection and pattern recognition when playing online. The quick-hitting, single-result action of iGaming has better odds of not making mistakes, whereas sports betting can lead you down many different paths with several different outcomes.
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A Deeper Understanding of Winning: From the Bettors and Operators
I’m more of a practical guy, so this is what winning looks like to me and many other gamblers. For the sportsbooks/iGaming operators, it looks more like this.
Gamblers have to realize that the odds will always be stacked against them. Whether it’s the casinos or sportsbooks, each of them has unique ways of not only trying to tilt the odds in their favor, but also to keep the players coming back for more.
It’s up to the gamblers to get out ahead of it and take advantage of those strategic spots when they emerge.
Winning: From a Player’s Perspective
For the players, it’s all about the money! In reality, there are more technical terms like expected return or return to player (RTP), but if anyone is going to measure a gambler’s success, it’s about keeping that same pace over the long term.
When you think about it, there’s a lot of money that comes from the gambler’s side of things, and the odds aren’t always in their favor. For instance, take sports betting, and how the overwhelming favorites have moneyline odds that usually aren’t worth your monetary efforts. On the other hand, successfully betting a huge underdog winner on the moneyline makes the victor feel like they’re on Cloud 9.
Personally, I don’t like using my own money to gamble, and it might sound ridiculous to hear that. But if I can build up a small profit at first on easy moneyline winners, a favorable spread, or an easy-mark total, then I can take more calculated risks on three- to six-leg parlays that can really put me in a great spot (not using my own money to gamble).
Wins on Casino Games
Each casino game has its own house edge, also referred to as the vig or juice in sports betting. These are all mathematical expectations that ensure the operator profits over time.
The most profitable casino games for operators are slots, which can have a house edge of 2-15%. However, the most common rates among operators land anywhere from 4-8%. These are high-variance outcomes, meaning that big wins are possible for customers but occur rarely.
Roulette is an interesting case, considering that the American (double-zero) and European (single-zero) versions have different house edges. On American Roulette (5.26% edge), the extra space for a double zero means there’s a higher opportunity for the gambler to miss. At the same time, European Roulette gives the gambler a better chance to hit.
Availability, Revenue, and Opportunities for Growth
As mentioned at the top of the article, there are far more U.S. states with legal sports betting (just under 40) than with iGaming (soon to be 8 in July).
Despite that wide gap in availability, both platforms are still growing in their own ways. For sports betting, it’s about refining what already exists and maintaining a strong push to expand into territories where they aren’t yet present. For the iGaming industry, there’s still a whole lot to explore.
Online Sportsbooks
Online sportsbooks have made an immediate splash in the pool of U.S. gambling markets. In just over 30 U.S. states already, there is still room to grow, but states like California and Texas have made their stances very clear, almost to the point where legislative efforts would be wiser to pursue elsewhere.
As for the states that are already in the pool, they are loving life! In 2025, online sports betting brought in $13.1 billion. That number should continue to grow due to the mass marketing campaigns that have worked so well, as well as sports like football, basketball, and baseball continuing to grow in popularity.
iGaming
There have been numerous efforts by U.S. states to legalize iGaming within their borders. Most of the legal iGaming states are located in the East, particularly in the Northeast, showing that it already has regional appeal. From here, it seems primed to expand well beyond that. If New York goes live in the near future, it will rapidly expand the iGaming market as we know it.
But getting iGaming legalized hasn’t been as easy as many people would have hoped. A good number of U.S. states have tried to make it accessible, but places like California and Texas have put up a stiff fight to make sure it doesn't happen on their turf.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, iGaming players will be more profitable than sports bettors. Oddly enough, this conclusion comes from realizing that sports betting (10% of money lost over time) has a higher loss rate than iGaming (5% of money lost over time), despite players having the tools necessary to make more informed decisions.
Does this mean I should change my approach and add more iGaming play to my repertoire? Well, I tried that during the sports-less time period in 2020, tracked all my results, and wound up losing a total of $12. So, the answer is probably no.
I have been a part of conversations with friends talking about their ups and downs on the iGaming trail, and this has been going on for a while now. Back to my stint during Covid, I had only a few months of that, and I was frustrated. I’m good for now, thank you very much!
At the end of the day, I trust my research skills and understanding of baseball and football will be “good enough” over time. Of course, we all need some luck along the way, but don’t we all, even outside of gambling?
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