10 Big Predictions For The Gambling Industry In 2025

In the sports betting world, “tout” is a four-letter word — and I don’t just mean because it’s four letters long. Most people have come to identify the label of “tout” to mean huckster, grifter, charlatan, peddler of BS, etc.

Are some people actually skilled at picking winners? Absolutely. Are very many of those people who are skilled at picking winners trying to make a living selling their picks rather than betting their picks? Nope.

All that said, as 2024 mercifully approaches its end, I am busting out my crystal ball, throwing on my swami turban, and playing the role of Casino Reports staff tout.

In other words, I’m sharing some predictions for what will happen in the gaming industry in 2025, and you should absolutely take most of them with a full pillar of salt. Here are 10 things this pick-slinging scammer has among his guaranteed best bets for the year ahead:

1. Crypto gaming will get more mainstream attention than sweepstakes gaming

As much conversation as the sweepstakes boom/debate attracted in 2024, it’s just not an easy topic for people outside the gambling industry hardcores to latch onto. It takes too long to explain dual currencies and sweepstakes law to a casual observer.

But crypto casinos and crypto sportsbooks? Even if a lot of folks are still confused by how cryptocurrencies work, they know it’s a big deal and they realize crypto has become a significant political issue as a particularly pro-crypto regime prepares to take over the controls in Washington D.C.

The sweepstakes gambling debate isn’t going away. (Sub-prediction: Zero industry minds will change regarding the legality of sweeps; everyone is dug in firmly on their current position, which for the most part is dictated by self-interest.) But in terms of those mainstream magazine deep dives, expect the focus to shift to Bitcoin and its brethren next year — with a related sub-focus on Robinhood and Kalshi and the blurry line between “prediction markets” and sports betting.

2. More states will ban college player prop bets

As NCAA President Charlie Baker said during last week’s Senate committee hearing, his campaign against college props has already succeeded in reducing the number of states allowing it from 23 to 19. Whatever comes of the federal government poking its nose into sports betting, this is the low-hanging fruit.

So, in positive financial news for offshore sportsbooks offering all the college player props they want, there will be fewer than 19 states permitting these wagers a year from now.

3. The sports betting industry will not solve any problems related to transgender college athletes

Does this need to be said? To at least two senators, yes, apparently it does.

4. New Jersey will report a $250 million iCasino revenue month

There was a time when $100 million in online casino revenue in a single state in a single month seemed impossible. Then came COVID lockdowns, and $100 million months became the norm in New Jersey. COVID lockdowns ended, and some expected iGaming numbers to recede. Surprise, they did not. Three times in 2024, New Jersey crossed $200 million, including November’s record $214 million.

The numbers will level off eventually, but I don’t think we’re there yet. Not with operators and game designers working so hard to keep pumping out new ideas, new innovations, new ways to elevate progressive jackpots and make slot bonus rounds exciting, new live-dealer games and bespoke titles. I don’t believe, even in a relatively mature online gaming state like Jersey, that iCasino is finished finding its audience.

So, sometime in 2025 ­— most likely in the fall, when football season brings more online sports betting, and more online sports betting brings more iCasino cross-sell — the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement will report a $250-million-plus haul.

5. The rise of multi-player slots will begin

Slot machines are not the most social games on a casino floor. If you want people you can high-five on big wins, head to the craps table. If you’re looking to kibitz, grab a seat at a blackjack table. Slots? Yeah, they can be social, if you and a buddy grab machines next to each other, or if you just happen to start up a conversation with your neighbor. But for the most part, spinning the reels is a solitary pursuit.

That’s fixing to change, though. Manufacturers and game studios are hard at work on multi-player concepts, whether pitting players against each other or encouraging players to team up and share wins. Both online and brick-and-mortar, expect to hear a lot more about multi-player slot games in 2025.

6. Someone, somewhere will begin attempting to crack down on operator VIP practices

Allegedly predatory behavior by gambling firms via their VIP hosts is far from the only take-away from the high-profile recent story about a woman suing DraftKings over her estranged husband squandering nearly $1 million of their funds, only discovered amid divorce proceedings. But it’s the take-away most likely to resonate with industry watchdogs.

My colleague Brett Smiley dove deep into the online gambling VIP world back in June, and there’s a lot to feel concerned about with the way the system works. Are some VIP hosts delivering top-notch service to players with money to burn who can handle the downswings? Absolutely. Are some reps attempting to navigate conflicting incentives, and ultimately making their living at the expense of problem gamblers who can’t handle the downswings? It seems likely.

The lawsuit against DK and the wide publicity it’s receiving mean 2025 will see new people sniffing around this potential problem.

7. Flutter will buy into the U.S. lottery space

This article on our sister site Lottery Geeks explains the options better than I could here. But the important thing you need to know is, if DraftKings is investing big in lottery by snapping up Jackpocket, then FanDuel execs are likely plotting how they can compete with (and beat) DK in the lottery space.

The line between iLottery games and online slots is a thin one, and the former are legal in a whole bunch of states in which the latter are not. Expect FanDuel’s parent company to flutter on in to the lottery game in some head-turning way.

8. The podcast duo behind ‘Gamble On’ will launch a new gambling pod

As I am one half of that duo, and the other half, Jeff Edelstein, is now my co-worker at Casino Reports, well … I may possibly have some inside information here. If I am a tout, then consider this my Can’t-Lose Whale-Play Lock of the Week. 

9. Under 0.5 new states will legalize iCasino

I’ve edited enough “Ruddock Report” columns this year to know better than to be optimistic about online casino legislation passing.

The state I’m least likely to count out is Florida, because of its ability to pull an end-around and legalize forms of gaming through non-traditional processes. But still — the smart money remains on the “under” here, at least if we’re talking about a one-year time frame.

10. Over 0.5 new states will legalize sports betting

It won’t be one of the behemoths — California and Texas both need more time. But I have a good feeling about South Carolina, where a sensible-looking bill has been pre-filed for 2025. And if that fails, Georgia and Minnesota both look like live ‘dogs.

This is the opposite of parlay betting. We just need one out of three to cash the over. So put some money on that happening, and when it wins big, tell ‘em which gaming industry tout nailed the pick and made you rich.