A combination of a sports-filled calendar, new jurisdictions, and wagering-thirsty Americans equaled the third-highest-grossing month in U.S. gaming history.
October generated $5.6 billion of revenue from online and retail legal sports betting, slots, and casino games combined, a record for that specific month and a 5.9% year-over-year increase, according to new figures from the American Gaming Association.
October marked the 32nd consecutive month of gaming growth in the U.S., which brought in over $16.2 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
With the NFL, college football, NBA, MLB playoffs, and NHL all converging in the same month, online sports betting and retail sportsbooks combined to account for $1.13 billion in October, a 38.8% increase from the same month in 2022.
The U.S. market also set a record for the highest monthly handle with $12.16 billion wagered, a 25.5% year-over-year increase. New York became the first state to reach $2 billion wagered in a month.
Much of the handle’s rise also comes because of five new legal sports betting states joining the market: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, and Nebraska. Take away those jurisdictions and sports betting growth increased by 3.3%.
A really strong year
October’s impressive figures have put revenue for the 10-month period at $8.33 billion, which is 50.8% higher than this time last year. That number has also already eclipsed the $7.18 billion generated in all of 2022.
The new markets have added $1.72 billion to the 2023 total, about 21%.
Sports betting’s 2023 handle is on pace to surpass $100 billion for the first time. Year-to-date wagers are already at $91.98 billion, a 27.9% increase from the same 10 months last year, following October’s surge.
See also: 10 Predictions, Bold and Otherwise, About Sports Betting in 2024
State findings
The total revenue for all gaming in the U.S. reached $54.4 billion after October, already nearly $2 billion more than in 2022.
AGA found that of the 33 jurisdictions that were gaming operational in some capacity by October 2022 and produced figures, 19 states saw an increase in revenue by 2023. Seven states and Washington D.C. are behind last year’s pace with six of them being under 1% lower.
Online gaming across six states generated $533.6 billion, a 17.6% year-over-year increase. U.S. iGaming’s $5.02 billion year-to-date is 23.1% higher than the same 10-month period in 2022.
Online vs. retail
AGA found that in-person gaming fell 2.2% year-over-year in October. Land-based casino slots and table games still brought in $3.95 billion in October.
Twenty of the 22 states with brick-and-mortar gaming saw year-over-year action decrease. Maryland’s commercial casinos saw the steepest decline of 24.9 percent because of an unusually high revenue rise in October 2022.
A strike among Detroit casino workers lowered Michigan’s revenue while West Virginia had one less reported week in 2023.
Online gaming, meanwhile, grew 34.4% year-over-year as new jurisdictions were introduced.
