A new report has predicted a period of rapid growth of American sports betting – forecasting that it will grow to the second-largest market in the world – but also warned that it may reach just a third of its potential size by 2030.

Produced in conjunction with iGaming Business and ICE Sports Betting USA, H2 Gambling Capital’s US Sports Betting: The Road to 2030, described the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) as the gambling industry’s biggest opportunity in a decade.

It said that due to the rapid roll-out of regulations, the US sports betting market is set to grow from the ninth-largest in the world to the fifth-largest by the end of 2018.

By 2023, H2 estimates that the US will grow to be larger than established markets such as the UK and Italy, rising to the world’s third-largest, before moving up into second place behind China by 2030.

“Undoubtedly the biggest takeaway is American sports betting (unlike US igaming before it) coming straight out the blocks,” H2 Gambling Capital director David Henwood said of the findings. “The big difference is this wasn’t a standing start.

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