Commercial Gaming Industry Sets Quarterly Record, as Players Lose Nearly $18B

Posted on: May 16, 2024, 09:58h. 

Last updated on: May 16, 2024, 10:05h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The state of the commercial gaming industry in the United States has never been stronger, as revenue hit new highs during the first quarter of 2024.

commercial gaming revenue casino sports betting
The Las Vegas Strip at night. Commercial gaming revenue during the first quarter of 2024 reached new highs, as players lost a combined $17.67 billion. (Image: Getty)

The American Gaming Association (AGA) on Thursday revealed its tally for the January through March period. Revenue from casinos, iGaming, and sports betting totaled $17.67 billion, an all-time high for any three months.

The growth wasn’t entirely unexpected, as the nation added four new states to the sports betting market and online casino gambling in Rhode Island debuted in March.

While gaming’s momentum remains strong, 2024 will be the new baseline for future growth after several years of sports betting legalization and post-pandemic consumer shifts,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Gaming’s continued growth relies on maintaining our commitment to innovation and responsibility.”

The commercial gaming industry posted record annual revenue of $66.5 billion last year. That marked a 10% increase from 2022.

Nationwide Growth

The AGA reported that 11 states experienced unprecedented gaming revenue in the first quarter. New York and Pennsylvania were on the list, representing two of the richest gaming states in the country.

Traditional gaming, defined as brick-and-mortar and riverboat casino slot machines and table games, accounted for $12.34 billion of the quarterly haul. That was a trivial 0.3% year-over-year gain, but an increase nonetheless.

Sports betting, legal now in almost 40 states and Washington, DC, generated gross revenue of $3.33 billion. Oddsmakers won 22% more money from bettors than they did in Q1 of 2023.

iGaming platforms won $1.98 billion from online gamblers, a 26% year-over-year surge. Online casinos remain limited to just seven states — Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.  

Q1 of 2024 marked the commercial gaming industry’s 13th consecutive quarter of year-over-year gross gaming revenue (GGR) growth. The quarter narrowly edged the fourth quarter of 2023 for the record when GGR totaled $17.64 billion.

Nevada remains the richest gaming state in the union. Silver State casinos, sportsbooks, and taverns won more than $3.9 billion during the quarter, a 2% improvement. Pennsylvania was second at nearly $1.7 billion, an 8% climb, and New Jersey placed third at $1.5 billion, a 16% surge.

Of the 32 states that have some form of commercial gaming, only eight experienced year-over-year GGR declines. They were Indiana (-2%), Iowa (-2%), Missouri (-4%), Montana (-35%), New Hampshire (-10%), New Mexico (-4%), Ohio (-16%), and Rhode Island (-3%).

Gaming Outlook

The gaming industry has flourished in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, but gaming executives aren’t overly concerned about a possible drawback in gaming spending in the years ahead.

The AGA recently polled gaming execs for their insights on the industry’s near-term outlook. More than nine in 10 (94%) expressed optimism, calling the current industry climate “good” or “satisfactory.”

Miller said earlier this month that the market is approaching “normalization” after years of expansion following the US Supreme Court’s May 2018 decision regarding sports betting. The landmark ruling struck down a federal law that had limited single-game sports wagering to Nevada.