Sports betting is America’s new pastime—and it’s bigger than movies, music, and museums together as Americans wage a whopping $166 billion on bets

Americans spent more on sports bets last year than on movies, music, and museums combined—and the industry taking a growing share of that money isn’t a sportsbook at all. In 2025, Americans placed roughly $166 billion in bets on sporting events.

Fortune reported last week 35% of bettors say they’re using traditional sportsbooks less because prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have changed how they bet. Billions of dollars in sports wagering had started moving into a market invisible to state regulators, because prediction markets aren’t classified as gambling at all.

The legal fight over that money has escalated fast. Kalshi is facing cease-and-desist orders or lawsuits in at least six states, and in March, Arizona became the first state to file criminal charges against the company, accusing it of running an illegal gambling business. Federal courts have since split on the core question of who gets to regulate it—judges in Nevada and New Jersey initially sided with Kalshi’s argument that federal commodities law overrides state gambling law, while a federal judge in Maryland ruled the opposite, finding “Kalshi characterizes its sports-related event contracts in various ways, but at bottom, they are sports wagers.” Those cases are now on appeal, and the outcome could reshape who taxes and regulates sports wagering nationwide.

The North American box office totaled $8.87 billion in 2025, which is still 22% below pre-pandemic levels. Recorded music revenue hit a record $11.5 billion. Live music like concerts and festivals brought in $18.51 billion. Meanwhile, book publishers tracked by the Association of American Publishers reported $14.6 billion for the year. And the U.S. museum industry generated an estimated $16.4 billion. Add it up and the total comes to roughly $70 billion, which is less than half what Americans wagered on sports.

“It fills that void, and it will crowd out other forms of entertainment, other forms of hospitality, for sure,” said Martin “Marty” Conway, an adjunct lecturer in Georgetown University’s Sports Industry Management program.

Sports gambling, in all respects, has become more ubiquitous, and as a result, is becoming more accepted as yet another form of entertainment.

“They’ve taken something that was just who’s going to win, and now you’re actually able to get involved in certain........

© Fortune