Surging Sports Betting Taxes Replenish Sinking State Coffers (2)

Sports betting is on the rebound.

After two pandemic-stricken quarters with virtually no sports, betting operations collected $352 million in the third quarter—a 47% increase from last year that fueled higher tax revenue in dozens of states.

For the January-September period, sports betting revenue totaled $678 million, up 27% on the year—even as other categories of gaming, and the tax revenue they generate, suffered.

The return of sports couldn’t have come at a more clutch time for state coffers, many of which remain in the red as a second wave of coronavirus hits the country. With winter ...