Regulated sports betting, iGaming, and traditional casino gaming continue to grow by leaps and bounds in the U.S.
The commercial gaming industry set new highs for the third consecutive year, according to American Gaming Association figures released on Tuesday.
Gaming set a U.S. record with revenue of $66.5 billion, a 10% increase from 2022 thanks in large part to 2023’s fourth quarter which produced $17.4 billion. December alone generated $6.2 billion, the most of any month in history.
State and local governments benefited to the tune of $14.4 billion in tax revenue.
“From the traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ demand for gaming is at an all-time high,” AGA president and CEO Bill Miller said. “Sustaining our momentum will take unified industry efforts around combating pernicious illegal operators and growing responsible gambling efforts in tandem with the growth of the legal market—both of which the AGA is committed to lead on throughout 2024.”
Market madness
New U.S. states Massachusetts and Ohio entering the market and highly populated regulated states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois reaching all-time highs in 2023 led to an explosive rise in sports betting.
Revenue increased 44.5% to $10.9 billion while the combined handle rose 27.8% to reach $119.8 billion, both record-setting figures, according to the AGA.
The Empire State alone made up nearly 16% of all dollars wagered on sports in 2023.
The fourth quarter produced gross revenue of $3.4 billion, a 30.8% year-over-year increase.
With 38 U.S. states now supporting legal sports betting, those numbers are likely to fall again in 2024 when North Carolina launches online sports wagering on March 11.
Casinos doing work
Mobile wagering continues to lead to increased numbers as nearly 25% of revenue from commercial gaming was generated online.
Despite only six U.S. states operating online casinos, that sector of the industry still produced a whopping $6.2 billion in 2023, up 23% year-over-year, the AGA reported.
Traditional casinos also enjoyed a 3.3% annual bump in revenue to an all-time high of $49.5 billion as 19 of the 27 states grew their year-over-year profits.
“Gaming’s success translates directly to the success of the states, cities and towns in which we operate,” Miller said. “We are proud to be in 47 U.S. jurisdictions, acting as economic drivers, creating jobs and providing the funding that makes critical public education programs, infrastructure projects, problem gambling resources and more possible.”
