American commercial casinos enjoyed record windfalls in 2023, winning $66.5 billion from gamblers. Figures released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association showed a 10% improvement over 2022.
Amid a tough financial climate, with inflation driving up costs and putting more strain on Americans’ wallets, this marked another promising sign for the industry.
In-person gambling represented a sizable portion of that sum. Slot machines took in $35.51 billion in 2023, while table games took in $10.31 billion. Both marked increases of at least 3.5% from the previous year.
“From the traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ demand for gaming is at an all-time high,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of AGA.
Those figures only grew as the year went on, with casinos reporting a record $6.2 billion in revenue for December and $17.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. This notably does not account for tribal-owned casinos, which typically release their figures at a later date. Those too are expected to reveal hefty profits.
Online Gambling on the Rise
Thanks to the relaxing of gambling regulations in parts of the US, online gambling posted $6.17 billion in revenue, up 22.9%. One key factor was the introduction of five new legal betting markets across the U.S., Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Ohio, which combined to bring in $1.49 billion. Ohio and Massachusetts, in particular, were quick to assert themselves among the top performing states for sports betting.
As a whole, sports betting generated a record $10.92 billion in revenue, an increase of 44.5%. A handle of $119.84 billion contributed to that, along with a year-over-year win percentage of 9.1%.
With more states looking to legalize online gambling, those numbers will presumably continue to grow. North Carolina is slated to launch in March, just in time for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Aside from that, expansion very much remains a waiting game across the industry.
Top Betting States
New York was the top-performing state for sports betting, reeling in $1.69 billion in revenue. New Jersey ($1.007 billion) and Illinois ($1.002 billion) both exceeded $1 billion in revenue for the first time.
Michigan ($1.92 billion), meanwhile, was tops for iGaming, outperforming New Jersey by just $115,000. Third was Pennsylvania at $1.74 billion. Currently, Connecticut, Delaware and West Virginia are the only other states to offer iGaming, with Nevada limited to online poker for the time being.
Nevertheless, Nevada remained the country’s top market for bettors with $15.5 billion in revenue. Pennsylvania was a distant second at $5.86 billion, followed by Atlantic City, N.J., at $5.77 billion. New York ($4.71 billion), Michigan ($3.58 billion), Ohio ($3.31 billion), Indiana ($2.82 billion), Louisiana ($2.69 billion) and Illinois ($2.52 billion) rounded out the top nine markets.
Among other key figures released by the AGA, casinos paid an estimated $14.42 billion in gambling taxes, a 9.7% increase from 2022. Resorts World New York City was the top performer outside of Nevada, followed by MGM National Harbor near Washington, D.C., Encore Boston Harbor and Borgata in Atlantic City, N.J.
All but four of the 35 states with commercial casinos saw an increase in revenue.