Wagers on more obscure sports such as video games and table tennis helped drive a surge in sports betting last year, state data analyzed by Vermont Public indicate.
Bettors wagered more than $235 million in Vermont last year, a nearly 20% increase over the industry’s debut in 2024.
Wagers on the two most popular betting sports — basketball and football — do not appear to have increased. But those on less-watched events did, which public health experts say can be a warning sign for a person’s gambling problem.
At least $4.9 million in bets were placed on table tennis matches last year. Even more — at least $8.7 million — was wagered on “ebasketball” events, where bettors predict who will win an organized video game competition.
A complete picture of Vermonters’ sports betting habits is not available. That’s because the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery, which regulates the private sports wagering market, collects very limited data. For instance, the state cannot say how many Vermonters partake in sports betting, because some users have accounts with more than one company.
The wagering breakdown by sport is similarly incomplete. The three licensed operators— FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics Sportsbook — provide state regulators with monthly lists of the top-five sports by total amount wagered. Everything else gets lumped into a single category.
That catch-all category was by far the largest in the department’s year-end report. In other words, the state does not know how more than $69 million was wagered in Vermont last year, up from $49 million in 2024, according to Vermont Public’s analysis of all available data.
By comparison, at least $49 million was wagered on basketball last year and roughly $40 million was wagered on football.
Betting on unfamiliar sports is one behavior among many — such as struggling to stick to spending limits and betting more to recoup losses — that can be a sign of problem gambling or a gambling addiction, according to public health officials.
Participation in sports betting did not appear to have broadened in the program’s second year. The total number of wagers placed across all sports actually declined slightly — but the average bet increased.
Vermont residents wagered on average more than $24 per bet, up from less than $21 in 2024.
While Vermont captures some gambling tax revenue from tourists, residents make up the majority of the marketplace. For every $2 that Vermont sports bettors lose to out-of-state operators, the state government earns about $1 to fund public programs.
Total tax revenue from sports betting jumped $900,000 last year to $7.2 million. Roughly $500,000 of that revenue goes toward addressing problem gambling each year.
The state largely relies on the three licensed sportsbook operators to flag potential problem gamblers and offer them appropriate resources. Director of Sports Wagering Joshua Sumner said the state reviews the companies’ “responsible gaming plans” annually.
“The operators are required to have measures in place to monitor and identify and, if needed, intervene” when they notice problem gambling behaviors, he said.
Sumner said the limited data the state collects still provides a “good picture” of Vermonters’ betting interests.
The upcoming Super Bowl ranks as one of the biggest dates on the annual sports betting calendar. Bettors in Vermont wagered roughly $2 million on the event each of the last two years. They lost nearly $600,000 on the 2025 game.
With the New England Patriots slated to compete in this Sunday’s matchup, Sumner expects to see a bump in wagers from a discrete, albeit informal category of sports bettors: fans.
