Online Casino Gaming Push in U.S. Stalled This Year After Early Surprise
After drawing a blank in 2025, the iGaming expansion community surprisingly gained a victory in Maine in January 2026.
Even so, the fact is that momentum in the U.S. iGaming industry has not come anywhere close to matching the trend in sports betting, where a remarkable 38 states have joined Nevada in allowing such wagering in the merely eight years since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed any state to do so.
U.S. States with Legal iGaming
New Jersey and Delaware iGaming operators each debuted in 2013, with New Jersey offering the first competitive online casino industry that, at maturity, has far surpassed the more well-known Atlantic City casino industry and state sports betting industry, in the state in terms of gross revenue and tax dollars added.
In 2025, New Jersey collected $581.9 million in iGaming tax - more than it took in from the Atlantic City casinos ($216.8) and sports betting operators ($209.1 million) combined.
Two more neighboring states legalized iGaming in 2017 and 2019, another two in 2021, and then Rhode Island in 2024. (Nevada launched online poker-only in 2013, but that platform is so limited that it rarely is mentioned in iGaming industry discussion).
While only a couple states have put up robust numbers on par with New Jersey, support for iGaming has been mostly limited to the Northeast.
Maine: The latest state to legalize iGaming
While Maine Gov. Janet Mills declined to directly authorize an online casino bill by signing it, her decision not to veto the measure produced the same result by default - iGaming will launch in her state sometime in late 2026.
In June 2026, Caesars announced that it will join with the Wabanaki Tribes to bring iGaming to Maine as an expansion of their existing partnership.
But if opponents of such gambling were concerned that Maine's pending launch might kick off a trend, those fears as of mid-2026 have proven to be quite misplaced.
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Failed iGaming efforts in the Northeast in 2026
New York
New York is the most populated state where online casino gaming became a serious part of legislative discussion.
But state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr.'s annual push for the gambling died in early June 2026, just as it had in the three previous years. However, the opposition appears to be waning in the state Senate and Assembly, which means the state Governor's race in November could be a key factor in iGaming's chances in New York.
Current Gov. Kathy Hochul is running for reelection against Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman, who was unsuccessful in his effort to bring a brick-and-mortar casino to Long Island in 2025.
That support for expanded gambling in his "backyard" could mean that Blakeman - a heavy underdog in the race – would, if elected, be more amenable to online casino gaming in New York.
New Hampshire
Continuing in the Northeast, New Hampshire legislator Tim Lang continued this year to try to match his successful leadership on the sports betting legalization front over to an iGaming law. But while a bill to authorize online casino games - but no online slots, a lucrative sector in the iGaming states - has passed a legislative committee, it failed to launch in 2026.
Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, a bid to add online casino gaming was put to rest in March 2026 when a joint committee in the statehouse in Springfield unanimously agreed to send the bill out for "study" - effectively moving such discussion into 2027.
Failed iGaming efforts elsewhere in 2026
Maryland
Heading down to the mid-Atlantic region, Maryland lawmakers in the state Senate and House filed matching preliminary measures in January 2026 that would have led to a statewide referendum in November. But polling in the state has been grim for iGaming supporters, and the legislature closed out its session in March without putting forth a vote in either chamber.
Virginia
Neighboring Virginia, meanwhile, also had its legislative session end in March with no success in legalizing iGaming.
But both chambers of the legislature passed online casino bills; lawmakers were just unable to reconcile differences in the bills such as where the new tax revenue should go. That suggests that Virginia could be a new iGaming state by the end of 2027.
Illinois
In Illinois, state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez offered an iGaming bill in February 2026 that was amended from his 2025 version, in hopes of making it more appealing to fellow lawmakers.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker also suggested last year that the state's dire budget woes might make iGaming worth consideration - but the new bill still didn't gain any traction this year.
iGaming legalization takes a back seat
A number of states that had lawmakers introduced iGaming bills in 2026 did not follow up in 2026.
That seems to match a nationwide trend this year over growing concern about the potentially negative impact on each state's residents from the spread of legal, regulated sports betting.
State lawmakers will have to weigh the potential dramatic rise in tax revenue - and the possible diminishing of illegal, offshore, unregulated gambling in their state - versus compulsive gambling issues.
For now, the addition of more iGaming legalization in states seems to be taking a back seat as a result.
