U.S. commercial gaming saw its greatest April yet as wagering was up 7% year-over-year.
The American Gaming Association announced Friday that in-person casinos, sports betting, and iGaming combined to produce an April-record $5.82 billion of revenue.
Year-to-date earnings reached $23.65 billion, up 6.5% from last year’s record figures.
Most of the gains came from sports betting and iGaming. Traditional casino gross gaming revenue was down slightly at 0.1% in April and up just 0.2% in the first four months of 2024.
Sports betting jumped 32.7% for the month and 24.4% year-to-date while online casinos saw profits rise 23% in April and 25.3% in the first four months of this year.
Arizona and Kentucky sports betting figures for April were unavailable when the AGA calculated revenues. Also, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Nebraska, and Vermont have launched sports betting since April 2023 and didn’t figure into most of the annual changes.
State of betting
The AGA reported that 21 of the 34 U.S. jurisdictions where gaming was legal in April 2023 saw a revenue increase in the same month in 2024.
Virginia made the biggest jump among U.S. states with April’s $120.7 million representing a 50% year-over-year increase. Connecticut produced the second-biggest rise among states at 32.7%.
Eight other states saw a double-digit increase while the District of Columbia went up 148.7%.
Pennsylvania led all states in April commercial gaming revenue at $555.2 million while New York, which doesn’t have iGaming, finished second at $449.2 million and jumped 13.1% year-over-year.
Three states – Delaware, New Hampshire, and West Virginia – suffered double-digit revenue decreases with the the Granite State leading the way at 20%.
As for the first four months of 2024, Virginia’s 44% rise in revenue led all states. Connecticut and Wyoming saw increases of over 30% each.
Moving toward mobile
Online sports betting jumped 36.2% year-over-year in April, but retail sportsbooks endured a drastic 40.9% drop in revenue compared to April 2023.
Still, combined sports betting revenue was up 32.5% year-over-year in April and totaled $4.58 billion year-to-date, surpassing last year’s figures by 24.4%.
Revenue grew 12.2% from the five new markets.
Seven states with online casinos (excluding Nevada poker) generated $657.2 million of April revenue, down 8.7% from March but up 23% year-over-year. It was the second-best revenue month ever for iGaming in the U.S.
