Tribal gaming surpassed 2022’s fiscal-year record revenue with a 2.4% increase in 2023.
The National Indian Gaming Commission announced gross gaming revenue for the 2023 fiscal year of $41.9 billion, the most ever, on Thursday at the Wisconsin Gaming Regulators Association Summer Conference.
The gross revenue grew by $1 billion year-over-year, despite regulatory changes, the cost of expansions or renovations, and closures, among other variables.
“This year’s GGR results demonstrate how a strong regulatory framework and diversity of tribal gaming enterprises generates growth in the gaming industry,” NIGC acting chairwoman Sharon M. Avery said in a statement. “Again, this year, tribal gaming operators and regulators have proven that their ingenuity and tenacity are catalysts for growth, even in the face of an ever-changing gaming landscape. This steadfastness will ensure that tribal gaming remains a valuable resource for continued economic sustainability in tribal communities.”
Regional breakdown
All eight regions, encompassing 527 tribal-owned, operated, or licensed gaming establishments across 29 states, saw an uptick in annual profits.
The Sacramento region, including all of California and parts of Nevada, raked in the highest GGR at $12 billion from its 87 operations but saw a 1.8% year-over-year increase.
The D.C. region, which includes New York, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C., finished second with revenue of $9.2 billion and saw a 2.4% jump from 2022.
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and parts of Nevada, known as the Phoenix region, scored the highest year-over-year increase of 5.5% with revenue of $3.9 billion. Rapid City’s six Midwestern states combined for $425.9 million, a 4.9% year-over-year rise.
The other regions saw between 1.4% and 2.8% growth year-over-year.
Significant growth
The NIGC was created in 1988 to support and promote tribal economic development through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Tribal gaming has seen significant revenue increases over the last decade. The NIGC reported $28.5 billion in GGR in 2014, and there has been a gradual increase every year since with the exception of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“I congratulate the industry regulators, operators, and tribal leadership on another successful year,” NIGC vice chair Jeannie Hovland. “Their hard work in meeting and overcoming the challenges presented by an increasingly competitive market is evidence that tribes are resilient, and their gaming expertise is yielding benefits for their nations as IGRA intended.”
