The US entertainment sector is a huge multi-trillion dollar business that goes well beyond Hollywood and US shores. Where film and TV long-dominated for decades, Americans are now gravitating towards digital entertainment like streaming, online sports betting and video games.
This article attempts to quantify that shift, by breaking down the top five US entertainment sectors by revenue and comparing some of the biggest operators in the space. These are the most popular forms of entertainment in the US, by overall customer spend.
Streaming Video – America’s Top Entertainment Sector
From Netflix and Hulu to YouTube to short video platforms like TikTok, video streaming services and platforms now generate $150 billion annually in US markets alone. Subscriptions remain the key revenue driver, with many households subscribing to multiple video streaming platforms monthly. However, advertising revenues are also a significant part of the equation, due to the massive number of eyeballs on streaming platforms.
YouTube accounts for the biggest number here, with revenues of $60 billion in 2025. Netflix is the second largest, having made $39 billion across 2025.
Today’s consumers are spending more on watching video at home or on mobile than they are on cinema tickets or cable TV, by a considerable amount.
Gambling is a Surprise Second Place (or Maybe Not)
It has only been seven years since legal sports betting spread across the US, and online casinos have slowly followed in six states. Yet the business is already making huge revenues. In fact, gambling is the fastest growing entertainment sector on this list.
In the US commercial gaming made $78.72 billion in 2025. That includes giant casino resorts like in Las Vegas or the Hard Rock resorts in Florida, but also all online gambling and betting in legal regulated markets.
Gambling is big business all over the world too. In countries with more developed markets like the UK, the performance of the online gambling industry almost rivals that of the US despite only having around a third of the population.
As the American online gambling industry develops, it’s likely that competition will become more fierce among operators, which is often a good thing for consumers. Operators will likely take cues from other regulated markets and offer bonuses to stand out from the crowd, as has been seen in the UK where punters can claim free spins at NetBet and other regulated casinos as they compete for the growing player base in what looks set to be one of the most lucrative igaming markets globally.
Another aspect is prediction markets, which are not federally considered gambling in the US but are elsewhere – such as in the UK. While it is debatable if they are completely gambling many would consider them to be so. If you added big operators like Kalshi or Polymarket to the gambling list then revenues would be more like $85 billion – although total trading exceeded $60 billion on these markets in 2025.
The biggest gambling company in the US is MGM Resorts International. The Las Vegas-based casino operator made $17 billion in revenue in 2025, although it may soon fall behind DraftKings and FanDuel as it hasn’t fared so well in the online market.
Professional Sports are Just Behind
Just behind gambling as an entertainment business, which might surprise some, is sports. The total US professional sports business made some $57 billion in revenue in 2025. That includes the top leagues and teams only.
That means commercial gambling in the US makes a significant amount more than all the top five sports leagues combined, even the mighty $23 billion-a-year NFL.
However, the picture is complicated if you include the sports adjacent businesses. Such as all the major sports promotions, sports media, apparel and equipment. In that case, estimates could easily go north of $150 billion.
So if you’re looking at revenues of direct pro sports leagues, it comes in third. If you include the entire American spend on sports-related activities – then sports might well top the list, even over streaming.
But it does get complicated because that also includes, for example, sports streaming on Netflix and sports betting. The biggest sports league is undoubtedly the NFL with 2025 revenues of $23 billion and several of the world’s most valuable sports teams in the league. Fanatics, the sports apparel and betting company, made about $10 billion in revenue over the year.
Video Games are Still Very Big
Interestingly, despite the cultural narrative of our time, sports remain significantly more popular than video games. Or at least, by revenue.
The US video game business made around $60 billion in 2025 – but unlike sports, there isn’t much of a wider ecosystem around it. That number already includes esports, subscription services and game oriented media.
The biggest sector for spending is mobile gaming, although big console game titles are still relevant financially. The upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be one of the biggest video game releases ever, and the game reportedly cost more than $1 billion to make.
Sony remains the largest videogame-focused company in the world and in the US, with $29 billion in revenue across 2025. Microsoft, through its Xbox brand and its ownership of Activision-Blizzard, remains near the top with $23.5 billion in gaming revenue.
