- The United States’ commercial gaming industry has shattered previously-held nationwide commercial gaming revenue records in just the first 10 months of 2021.
- Six states have already surpassed their previous yearly commercial gaming revenue records through the month of October.
WASHINGTON - The United States’ commercial gaming industry is enjoying its strongest year ever from a revenue standpoint, smashing the previous revenue record in just 10 months, according to the American Gaming Association.
With all applicable states reporting data through October (and some reporting November and December numbers), America’s 987 total commercial casinos have reported over $44.15 billion in commercial gaming revenue in 2021 - this has already surpassed the nation’s previous gaming revenue record, $43.65 billion, which was set in 2019.
Out of the reported $44.15 billion in 2021 revenue, $34.22 billion came from casino gambling - a whopping $27 billion of this sum came from slot machines alone.
While the meat and potatoes of the commercial gaming industry’s revenue comes from casino gaming, sports betting is slowly taking up a larger percentage of the market share each year.
In October, the United States sports betting industry generated $3.16 billion in revenue, an unbelievable 359% increase from October 2019.
The revenue growth cannot be chalked up to a few states overperforming, either. Out of the 25 jurisdictions that had operational commercial gaming industries in 2019, 24 of them saw revenue growth. The only state not to see growth was New Mexico, who saw a meager 0.7% decrease in revenue.
Through October 2021, 11 of the 25 states that had active commercial gaming industries in 2019 have already surpassed their total revenue numbers from 2019; eight more states are outperforming their 2019 rate through the first 10 months.
The most impressive statistic, however, is that six states have already surpassed their record gaming revenue figures. These states include Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.
With more and more states creating and regulating legal sports betting and online gambling, 2022 will likely break this year’s records, especially if states begin to relax their COVID restrictions. Even with inconsistent laws and COVID regulations affecting the industry, the commercial gaming and sports betting industries should remain a bull market for the foreseeable future.