AGA reports 10% rise in US commercial gaming revenue for August
Commercial gaming revenue reached $4.9bn in August
US.- The American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker shows that $4.89bn was spent on land-based casino gaming, sports betting and igaming in August. The figure is up 10 per cent year-on-year and a new record for August.
AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker features state-by-state and nationwide financial performance data with breakdowns for individual gaming verticals. August was the 18th consecutive month with positive year-over-year revenue growth.
The pace of growth picked up again after slowing in past months, although revenue declined 4.1 per cent on a sequential basis in line with seasonal trends. The results keep 2022 on track to be another record-setting year. For the first eight months of the year, commercial gaming revenue totalled $39.21bn, 14.9 per cent ahead of 2021.
As expected, Nevada generated more revenue than any other state for August, at $1.2bn. New Jersey was second ($471m) and Pennsylvania third ($429m). Virginia saw the highest year-on-year growth at 185 per cent. New Hampshire’s gaming revenue grew by 163 per cent and Oregon’s by 155 per cent.
Only four of the 31 United States’ commercial gaming jurisdictions recorded a year-on-year revenue decline: Delaware, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Montana.
Nationwide revenue from land-based casino slot machines and table games reached $4.02bn, an increase of 2.5 per cent over last year. Slots generated revenue of $2.92bn, up 1.7 per cent, while table game revenue increased 3.4 per cent to $810.7m. The separate slot and table game figures do not include data from Louisiana and Michigan, though their aggregates are captured by the combined nationwide figure.
US travel spending contracted from August 2019, but the pace of revenue growth for traditional casino verticals was the highest since April. Regional casino visitation increased on average by 4.2 per cent in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri from 2019 levels.
August was the first full month of operations for land-based casino gaming in Virginia after the Commonwealth became America’s 26th casino market on July 8. The state’s first operational casino grossed $14.3min revenue, outpacing several similarly sized properties in nearby Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Year-to-date, casino slot machines and table games have grossed $31.96bn, 8.6 per cent ahead of the same eight-month period in 2021. At the state level, 22 of 25 commercial gaming states with slot and table gaming in 2021 saw combined revenue from these verticals grow through the first eight months of 2022.
Sports betting was hindered by the summer lull with a nationwide handle of $4.54bn, up 48.6 per cent year-over-year. Operators generated $471.4m in revenue, more than doubling last year on the back of six new regulated states since last August and organic growth in all but two markets that were operational one year ago (Delaware, -34.5 per cent, and Montana, -7.2 per cent).
Through August, commercial sports betting revenue stands at $3.97bn, up 69.6 per cent on the same month last year, while year-to-date handle is $55.76bn, 86.0 per cent ahead of the same period last year. Assuming no significant slowdown in the pace of growth between now and December, annual sports betting handle will likely surpass the $100 billion mark this year.
Meanwhile, combined August revenue generated by igaming operations in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia increased by 31.9 per cent year-over-year to $401.8m, with all markets reporting annual growth. August 2021 had one less operational igaming market, with Connecticut launching in October. Year-to-date igaming revenue stands at $3.21bn, up 39.9 percent on the same period in 2021.
Combined revenue from sports betting and igaming accounted for 17.9 per cent of total U.S. commercial gaming revenue in August, up from the two previous months.
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