Offshore vs. Regulated Sportsbooks: Traffic, Handle, and What the Numbers Really Say (2025)

Martin Green
September 22, 2025

The U.S. sports betting market is now a tale of two ecosystems: regulated sportsbooks operating under state licenses, and offshore books that accept U.S. customers without U.S. licenses. Below is a data-driven look at both sides—web traffic, betting handle, and the tradeoffs that matter.

Snapshot: Size & Scale

Regulated U.S. market (2024): Legal sportsbooks handled ~$150 billion and generated ~$13.7 billion in revenue, per the American Gaming Association (AGA). That’s ~9–9.3% hold nationally. American Gaming Association
New York (FY 2024–25): The largest single state market handled ~$23.94 billion with ~$2.14 billion GGR—an 8.94% hold for the year. iGB
Nevada (long-run benchmark): UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research tracks Nevada’s annual win/hold back to 1984; the latest report compiles 1984–2024 totals direct from the Gaming Control Board. gaming.library.unlv.edu

Offshore/illegal market estimates (online): Multiple analyses argue the unregulated online market is still enormous. The AGA’s 2025 research pegs illegal/unregulated gambling at $673.6 billion wagered across categories; it cites H2 Gambling Capital for a $172.1 billion regulated sports handle (Jun 2024–May 2025) as context.

Independent work from Yield Sec (commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling) claims ~$90.1 billion U.S. online GGR in 2024, with ~74% captured by unlicensed operators. Treat these offshore figures as directional, not audited. American Gaming Association

Traffic: Who’s Getting the Clicks?

Website visits aren’t the same as handle, but they do signal consumer demand.

Offshore examples (Similarweb, recent months 2025):

Bovada (bovada.lv): frequently 8-figure monthly visits; Similarweb shows ~17M recent monthly visits and lists Bovada among top gambling sites by volume. Similarweb
BetOnline (betonline.ag): ~26M monthly visits cited on its Similarweb profile snapshot. Similarweb
MyBookie : ~6–23M depending on the period viewed in Similarweb snapshots. Similarweb

Regulated examples (U.S.-licensed brands):

DraftKings (draftkings.com): Double-digit millions of monthly visits; a recent analysis summarizing Similarweb data shows ~76.6M visits in 1H 2025 (sitewide). Similarweb
FanDuel (fanduel.com): Also double-digit millions of monthly visits; ~68.2M visits in 1H 2025 per the same roll-up. Takeaway: Offshore leaders can rival top U.S. books in raw web volume, particularly around NFL seasonality—but traffic ≠ legal market share. Only licensed operators can convert activity into state-reported handle and taxes.

Handle & Hold: Apples-to-Apples Where We Can

Because offshore sites don’t publish audited state reports, only regulated books give clean “handle” (total wagered) and “hold” (win%):

National (legal): ~$150B handle / ~$13.7B GGR in 2024 (hold ~9.3%). ESPN.com
NY (legal): $23.94B handle, $2.14B GGR, 8.94% hold (FY 2024–25). iGB
Nevada (legal): Annual handle/hold detailed across 1984–2024 by UNLV’s digest of Nevada GCB reports. gaming.library.unlv.edu

For offshore, independent estimates vary widely. Yield Sec’s 2024 model is a revenue (GGR) estimate, not handle; converting GGR to handle would require assuming a hold%—which isn’t consistently reported. The AGA’s 2025 work also warns that illegal-market sizing carries methodological uncertainty. Treat any offshore “handle” claims with caution unless backed by transparent methodology.

Compliance & Consumer Protections

Regulated sportsbooks comply with KYC/AML, geofencing, age checks, dispute resolution, and publish taxable GGR; state dashboards (e.g., NY, NJ, NV) enable public scrutiny. iGB+2NJ.gov
Offshore sites operate outside U.S. licensure, often rely on crypto or relaxed KYC, and aren’t bound by U.S. responsible-gaming standards or tax/advertising rules; several reports highlight rapid growth of crypto casinos and cross-border operators. Financial Times

Pricing, Product, and Payments

Pricing/hold: U.S. legal books show multi-year national hold ~9%; many states cluster in the 7–10% range depending on parlay mix. (National 2024 hold ~9.3%.) Offshore pricing can be competitive on moneylines/totals, but there’s no audited hold to benchmark. ESPN.com
Markets & limits: Regulated books increasingly limit sharp action; offshore books sometimes advertise higher acceptance for certain markets—but policies are opaque and unenforceable under U.S. law. (Anecdotal; verify per operator T&Cs.)
Payments: Regulated books support mainstream rails (ACH, cards in compliant states) with robust withdrawal controls. Offshore books lean on crypto and non-U.S. processors; the FT reports $81.4B 2024 GGR across crypto casinos—illustrating scale, not sportsbook-only specificity. Financial Times

Taxes & Public Impact

Regulated handle and GGR translate to state taxes and earmarked programs (e.g., education in New York). Public reporting enables policy debates on advertising, problem-gaming funding, and consumer safeguards. iGB
Offshore activity yields no U.S. tax and complicates responsible-gaming intervention. AGA’s latest sizing underscores the leakage risk from illegal channels. American Gaming Association

Quick Reference: Selected 2024–25 Stats

Bottom Line

If you want audited numbers, consumer protections, and public tax contributions, the regulated market wins on transparency and accountability. BMR
If you’re measuring raw online demand, offshore leaders still draw massive traffic—and, per independent estimates, a large share of online revenue—but with higher legal, payment, and recourse risks for U.S. bettors.

Metric	Regulated	Offshore/Unregulated
National handle / revenue	Regulated ~$150B handle, $13.7B GGR (2024); ~9.3% hold. ESPN.com	Offshore/Unregulated Estimates vary; AGA sizes $673.6B total illegal/unregulated wagering (all categories). Yield Sec models $90.1B online GGR with ~74% to unlicensed sites (2024). American Gaming Association
Biggest state handle	Regulated NY: $23.94B handle, $2.14B GGR, 8.94% hold (FY 2024–25). iGB	Offshore/Unregulated No audited state-level data; websites do not publish verified handle.
Example monthly web traffic	Regulated DraftKings / FanDuel: each millions to tens of millions monthly visits; H1 2025 totals ~76.6M and ~68.2M respectively. Fortis Media	Offshore/Unregulated Bovada: ~17M recent month; BetOnline: ~26M; MyBookie: mid-single-digit to tens of millions depending on month. (Similarweb snapshots.) Similarweb