The American Gaming Association has announced that US commercial gaming revenue hit annual record for the third straight year, coming in at $66.5 billion in 2023. The fourth quarter also set a record for the highest quarter ever at $17.4 billion. The two figures were 10.0% and 9.5% increases from their respective 2022 counterparts.
More than half of the year’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) was, as one would expect, slots, at $35.5 billion.
The biggest riser also should not be too much of a surprise: sports betting. Annual sports wagering GGR was $10.9 billion, a whopping 44.5% increase from 2022. Both Massachusetts and Ohio came online in 2023, adding two big markets to the industry. The AGA also that “continued maturation across most existing markets” added to the growth. Sports betting eclipsed table games for the second largest gaming vertical behind slots.
“From the traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ demand for gaming is at an all-time high,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller in Tuesday’s press release. “Sustaining our momentum will take unified industry efforts around combating pernicious illegal operators and growing responsible gambling efforts in tandem with the growth of the legal market—both of which the AGA is committed to lead on throughout 2024.”
Though it is still a sad state of affairs for online poker in the United States, online gambling overall did quite well. What the AGA calls “iGaming,” which likely includes both online poker and online casino games, was up 22.9% to $6.2 billion in 2023. Overall, online gambling made up about 25% of the nation’s GGR – that number would include iGaming plus most of sports betting, as the vast majority of sports betting revenue is placed via mobile apps and web browsers, rather than in person at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.
The top commercial gaming market was, naturally, the Las Vegas Strip, followed by New Jersey (primarily Atlantic City). The Chicago area was third, Baltimore-DC was fourth, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast was fifth. The Las Vegas Strip also enjoyed the strongest growth over 2022.
“Gaming’s success translates directly to the success of the states, cities and towns in which we operate,” said Miller. “We are proud to be in 47 U.S. jurisdictions, acting as economic drivers, creating jobs and providing the funding that makes critical public education programs, infrastructure projects, problem gambling resources and more possible.”
