Revenue from commercial gaming in the United States surpasses previous highs through 2021

US casino gaming scene skyrockets in 2021

The American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker has been updated. According to the monthly report, October was the second-best month on record for the US commercial gaming industry, with $4.75 billion in revenue generated by traditional casino gaming, sports betting, and igaming.

With a few states reporting November revenue data ahead of schedule, commercial gaming revenue for the year to date has surpassed $44.15 billion, already breaking the previous year’s record of $43.65 billion and establishing 2019 as the highest-grossing year ever.

According to the tracker, the commercial gaming business in the United States continued pace into October, owing to casinos benefiting from two additional weekend days compared to 2019. This month, Connecticut launched commercial sports betting and igaming, making it the country’s 34th commercial gaming state. The combined income from traditional casino gaming, sports betting, and igaming was $4.75 billion, the second-biggest monthly total ever and a 30.7 percent rise over October 2019; Revenue increased 4.8 percent sequentially from September.

The sector has exceeded $4 billion in monthly commercial gaming revenue for eight months. Before this year, revenue had never exceeded $4 billion monthly. Year to date through October, commercial gaming revenue totaled $43.43 billion, nearly tying the industry’s full-year record of $43.65 billion set in 2019 and running 19.8 percent ahead of the same 10-month period last year.

At the state level, revenue increased in 24 of the 25 commercial gaming jurisdictions active in October 2019, while New Mexico remained steady (-0.7 percent ).

After the first ten months of 2021, eleven of the twenty-five commercial gaming states that were operating two years ago have already topped annual revenue from 2019, while eight additional markets have outperformed the same period last year. Six states — Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota – exceeded fiscal year revenue records.

In October, income from traditional gambling exceeded pre-pandemic levels by double digits, hitting $3.97 billion. Casino slot game revenue in the United States reached $2.84 billion, up 16% from October 2019, while table games made $831.2 million, up 23.2 percent from two years ago. Between January and October, traditional casino games generated $37.24 billion, an increase of 5.8 percent over the prior year’s same 10-month period.

At the state level, brick-and-mortar casino income increased in 23 of 25 states, except for Michigan (-3.6 percent) and New Mexico, which remained virtually unchanged (-0.7 percent ). Through October, 14 of 25 states made more income from traditional gambling in 2021 than in 2019. In the first half of 2021, more extended periods of Covid-19 limits or shutdowns account for most year-to-date decreases in the other eleven states.

Despite the end of the summer tourism season, available visitor data indicates that casino admissions did not fall significantly in October. While overall casino admissions in regional markets remain low compared to pre-pandemic levels, the Las Vegas destination market continues to rebound, welcoming a pandemic record of 3.4 million visitors in October.

Post-pandemic surges

Meanwhile, consumer spending continues to exceed levels seen before the pandemic. The average casino win per visitor increased between 18.5 and 44.9 percent in the five states, with accessible statistics in October 2019. In October, Connecticut also became the 34th state to legalize commercial gaming, opening sports betting and igaming. Along with a crowded sports calendar, this resulted in record betting activity, with Americans wagering $7.05 billion on sports in 25 commercial sports betting jurisdictions.

Through October, the total US sports betting handle has reached $42.19 billion, nearly tripling the $21.57 billion wagered through October 2020; 17 markets were active. Commercial sportsbooks held at least $407.7 million in October, narrowly beating the previous monthly record of $405 million set in September, while igaming income also reached an all-time high of $357.3 million. Sports betting and igaming revenue combined amounted for 16.1 percent of overall commercial gaming revenue in October, unchanged from September.