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Americans placed $166.94 billion in sports bets in 2025, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). That makes legal sports betting enormous by wager volume—but it does not mean bettors spent or lost $166.94 billion. The figure is handle: the total amount wagered, much of which is paid back to bettors as winnings.
What does the $166.94 billion figure measure?
The AGA reported $166.94 billion in 2025 commercial, state-regulated sports-betting handle. Handle counts the flow of wagers placed, not the amount sportsbooks kept or bettors lost. The AGA also reported $16.96 billion in sports-betting revenue for the year, a separate and much smaller measure. AGA’s 2025 annual results provide the industry tracker totals.
Fortune says more than 90% of wagered money is returned as winnings. It estimates roughly $1,000 in annual legal wagers and about $100 in losses per U.S. adult, on average. Those are estimates, not a description of each bettor’s experience: an average can conceal a wide range of outcomes, including people who do not bet and people who lose substantially more.
Is sports betting bigger than movies, music, books, and museums combined?
By the comparison Fortune makes, the 2025 betting handle of roughly $166 billion is more than twice the roughly $70 billion combined for selected entertainment-industry figures. But this is not an apples-to-apples revenue comparison: the betting side is gross wager volume, while the comparison figures are industry revenues or receipts.
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| Category | Figure Fortune reports | Measure and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Sports betting | $166.94 billion | AGA-reported 2025 commercial sports-betting handle, not sportsbook revenue |
| North American box office | $8.87 billion | Receipts, as reported by Fortune |
| Recorded music | $11.5 billion | Revenue, as reported by Fortune |
| Live music | $18.51 billion | Revenue, as reported by Fortune |
| Book publishing | $14.6 billion | Revenue; Fortune attributes this figure to the Association of American Publishers |
| U.S. museums | $16.4 billion | Estimated industry revenue, as reported by Fortune |
The comparison figures and their combined estimate come from Fortune’s October 3, 2026 report. The headline comparison indicates scale, not equivalent consumer spending, economic output, or money retained by businesses.
How did the market reach this scale?
Fortune compares $6.6 billion wagered in 2018 with roughly $166 billion in 2025. The comparison illustrates the rapid expansion of reported betting activity, but it does not mean a uniform nationwide legal market existed in 2018. In 2025, the AGA said 38 states and Washington, D.C., had launched legal sports-betting markets after the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision. That count is historical context, not a current state-by-state guide; rules and market structures vary. AGA’s State of the States summary describes the industry’s market coverage.
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What does the official total leave out?
The AGA total covers commercial, state-regulated sports betting. Its State of the States summary says commercial sports-betting revenue excludes tribal-casino sportsbooks and Florida mobile sports betting conducted as tribal gaming. Those exclusions matter when interpreting the number as a complete measure of all betting activity.
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The AGA is a gaming-industry trade association and the source of its own market tracker. Its market totals are useful for understanding the commercial regulated sector, while its statements about the benefits of regulation represent the association’s perspective.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does this growth mean for bettors?
A large handle shows how much money is wagered repeatedly; it does not tell an individual whether betting is likely to be profitable or how much they will lose. Matheson told Fortune that bettors can believe that more study will make betting profitable, contrasting that belief with games of chance whose odds are fixed. The national market total does not demonstrate that an individual bettor can overcome sportsbook odds.
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AGA’s 2025 NFL release promoted planning before placing bets and responsible-gambling principles. That is an industry message, not evidence that betting is risk-free or that the average loss estimate applies to everyone. AGA’s historical state count is likewise not a substitute for checking the rules where a person lives. The AGA release outlines the trade group’s responsible-betting guidance.
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