Summary
- So far, US commercial casinos have generated $44.15 billion.
- This total does not include November and December totals.
- The increase in revenues helped the coffers of 23 states out of 25 that offer land-based casinos.
The Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker of the American Gaming Association (AGA) shows the state-by-state revenue figures for commercial casinos in the United States. A recent report revealed that US casinos have already surpassed a new record when it comes to annual revenues. October saw the momentum of the industry continue and while 2020 was a low year, 2021 has risen up to be a record-setting time for land-based casinos.
Details of the Report
Revenues from traditional casino gaming, online gaming and sports betting came in at $4.75 billion in October. This was the second-highest monthly total for the US period and was an increase of more than 30% when compared to the same month in 2019, pre-COVID-19. When compared to September, the total was 4.8% better.
So far, the commercial gaming industry has hit the $4 billion mark each month in 2021. This is a huge accomplishment and expected to happen in November and December as well. Through October, year-to-date totals came in at $43.43 billion.
While the full totals of November are not in yet, with what has been published, the US casinos have surpassed the 2019 full-year totals thus far. There are still more totals to come in, including December’s earnings.
State Totals are up in 23 out of 25 With Casino Gaming
The report showed that 23 of 25 states in the US with commercial casino gaming saw a revenue increase when compared to 2019. Michigan saw a slight decline of 3.6% and New Mexico even lower at 0.7%. From January to October, 14 states were able to generate more land-based income within the year than in 2019.
In October, Connecticut also joined the commercial market with the launch of online gaming and sports betting. This further added to the overall totals and boosted the revenue stream. It also helped that the last month has been a busy sports season. Through October, year-to-date sports betting handle totals $42.19 billion, almost double the amount from the same time frame in 2020.
The 2021 totals thus far are a big accomplishment considering the disaster that was 2020. Last year, casinos were shut down for extended periods of time and reopened with limited hours and services. There were also restrictions in play involving travel, mask wearing, and social distancing mandates to consider.
Overall, the casinos in the United States have come a long way in just one year’s time. It will be interesting to see the totals after Decembers numbers come in to see just how high the revenues are for 2021.
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