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USA’s Commercial Casino Revenue for Q2 Takes a 79% Dive Year-Over-Year
By Jeff Osienya Aug 17, 2020 IndustryIn a new report, the AGA has disclosed that USA’s commercial casinos lost 78.8 percent of their overall revenue in Q2 2020 because of the pandemic inspired casino lockdowns. Online casino gaming continues to soar.The American Gaming Association (AGA) has published a new report indicating that the USA’s commercial gaming sector faced a sharp 78.8% year-over-year revenue decline in Q2 2020 to rake in only $2.30 billion.
This report which is part of AGA’s regular Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker revealed that the United States gaming industry suffered a slump in virtually all verticals as an aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic.
USA’s Gaming Industry Weathers the Storm
In the early periods of the first quarter of 2020, before COVID-19 brought everything in the commercial casino sector to a standstill, the demand for land-based gaming had been strong. AGA’s data shows that for January and February, the overall revenue collected from commercial gaming had increased by 10.4% compared to the same period in 2019. However, things took a different turn after all the 990 brick-and-mortar casinos went on lockdown from mid-March.
Interestingly enough, by the time in-person casino gaming was okayed again towards the end of the second quarter of 2020, a few states went on to report an upsurge in the average daily Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) per opened casino. This increase was reported even though the open casinos had resumed operations with reduced capacities, lesser games, and fewer amenities than usual. Some of the states that experienced immediate post-pandemic growth include the likes of Indiana, Ohio, and South Dakota which recorded a 7.4%, 19.3%, and 42.5% respectively.
In light of the findings, Bill Miller, the current AGA President lauded the strength of the gaming industry in the face of the pandemic crisis by saying:
Quote“COVID-19 has undoubtedly posed the most difficult economic challenge the gaming industry has ever faced, … Yet, gaming’s record popularity prior to COVID-19, as well our resilience in the midst of such adversity, is evidence of the industry’s foundation for continued success as we emerge from the pandemic.”
The Road to Recovery Sends Positive Signals
Even though the months of April and May both saw over 90% declines in GGR compared to the same period last year, things had already started looking up in June. By the end of June, about 300 commercial casinos across different states in the USA had reopened and thus, June’s earnings almost quadrupled what the gaming venues had collected for April and May combined.
As we speak, over 85% of tribal and commercial casinos in the USA have resumed operations all having initiated strict CDC approved plans for keeping both patrons and staff safe against the novel virus. Out of the 990 casino properties that are spread across 40 states, 851 of them have partially reopened their doors for business. This number consists of 434 tribal casino properties and 417 commercial casino venues.
Like casino betting, the sports betting GGR also faced steep regression in Q2 2020 due to the sweeping hiatus of all the major sporting events, locally and internationally. The sports betting GGR for Q2 2020 stood at $64.2 million after a 46.3% drop year over year. However, as a result of the significant increase in the legalization of sports betting across the states, Q1 2020 had experienced a slight jump in the revenue accrued, at 4.1%.
As part of his press statement, Miller also expressed his confidence in the recovery of the industry by adding that;
Quote“With business returning to casino floors and sportsbooks seeing increased action, the gaming industry is steadily charting a responsible path to recovery that prioritizes health and safety, supports the communities where we operate and offers first-class entertainment.”
Interactive Casino Gaming Continues to Shine
The only gaming vertical that recorded positive growth in Q2 2020 is online gaming. Compared to the second quarter of 2019, the iGaming GGR experienced a whopping 253.8% revenue increase this year, to bring in $402.7 million.
This marks the first full quarter where online gambling has brought in more revenue for the gaming industry in the country than sports betting, after the PASPA was repealed on 14th May 2018. Bear in mind that to date, the only states that have legalized online casino gaming in the USA are Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
It is even more important to note that out of these states, Nevada only allows online casino gambling on poker and Michigan hasn’t officially debuted its online casino gaming services. This shows the kind of raw, untapped potential that the USA’s burgeoning iGaming industry has as more states continue to consider legalizing interactive casino betting.
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