Gap between Tribal and commercial casinos is narrowing

A report by Southern California economist Alan Meister, found that Indian gaming accounts 43.5 percent of the market whilst the commercial sector represents 44.2 percent of the total.

US.- A study conducted by Southern California economist Alan Meister and released yesterday (Thursday) through Casino City, found that Tribal casinos recorded their fifth straight annual gaming revenue increase in 2014 and further closed the gap that separates the Indian market from the commercial casino industry. Meister explained that the 2014 data showed that Indian gaming had outpaced the growth rate of commercial casinos by roughly 2 percent. “This is the closest the gap has ever been,” he said.

According to the report, there are 489 tribal-owned casinos in the US, which recorded an all-time high of US$28.9 billion in gaming revenue in 2014. This represents an increase of 1.9 percent over 2013. The report shows that Indian gaming revenue is highly concentrated in a handful of states. The top 10 states gained the 85 percent of the overall total. The study found no changes in the ranking of the top five Indian gaming markets. Oklahoma, which has 126 large and small casinos, grew revenue 4.8 percent to US$3.9 billion. Florida, where the Seminoles own seven out of eight casinos in the state, increased its revenue in 1.7 percent to US$2.4 billion.

California is the nation’s leading Indian gaming market with 72 casinos producing US$7.3 billion in revenue, roughly one-quarter of the entire Indian gaming sector. This numbers include four new opened casinos and full year of revenue from the Graton Resort and Casino near Santa Rosa. Meister’ data confirms that California’s 4.4 percent increase in 2014, reflected the state’s economic rebound. “California had lagged in terms of recovery, but 2014 showed a decent amount of growth,” Meister added.