Wagering on obscure sports raises concerns in Vermont

• Vermont recorded an increase in its total betting handle in 2025, compared to 2024 data
• Notably, the lion's share of the wagering betting handle in 2025 came from "other sports," which include bets on video games, table tennis and other obscure sports
• While in 2024, Vermont collected $6.3m in revenue, the sum increased to $7.3m in 2025

Betting on sports other than basketball, football and baseball resulted in an uptick in the wagering handle throughout 2025 in Vermont, newly released data reveals.

Nearly $40m more was wagered via the three licensed betting companies in the state, with a notable increase in the wagering handle for obscure sports such as table tennis and video games.

Betting handle on traditionally unpopular sports soars year-over-year

After legalizing sports wagering, Vermont granted licenses to DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook, following a competitive tender process.

This led to the launch of legal betting and 2024 marked the first year of licensed wagering.

Based on data from the Department of Liquor and Lottery in Vermont, the total betting handle in 2024 was $198.8m.

The latest data, covering the period between January and December 2025 shows a notable increase in the total wagering handle.

Per the Department's data, the 2025 total handle soared by more than $36m to $235.1m.

Concerningly, the betting handle reported by other sports, besides the most popular ones like football and basketball, recorded exponential growth.

The gambling watchdog's data reveals that in 2024, the betting handle of "all other" sports, which includes video games, table tennis and other traditionally unpopular sports, was $57.3m.

However, in 2025, that revenue soared to $86.4m, surpassing every other type of sport wager.

This raises concerns among health experts, considering that wagering on obscure sports may suggest chasing losses, compulsive gambling or even problem gambling behavior.

Equally as concerning, the Department's report doesn't offer a breakdown of the wagering handle within the "all other" sports category.

However, it is worth noting that the betting handle in this category represented the lion's share of the total handle, considering that the basketball handle in 2025 was only $49.2m, the betting handle for football and baseball was $40m and $22.1m, respectively.

Vermont's revenue share from betting records an uptick in 2025

In 2024, the betting handle translated to $19.9m in adjusted gross sports wagering revenue and Vermont's revenue share was $6.3m.

A year later, the adjusted gross sports wagering revenue of the licensed operators increased and so did Vermont's share.

According to the Department's data, Vermont's revenue share was $7.3m in 2025, while the adjusted gross sports wagering revenue of the licensed operators hit $22.8m.

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