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USA Commercial Gaming Revenue Hits $5.31B in March to Crown a Historic $14B Quarter
By Jeff Osienya May 11, 2022 IndustryThe American Gaming Association has published a State of the States report highlighting the gaming industry’s Q1 performance. Join us as we dig deeper into what the numbers mean for the burgeoning sector.The Covid-19 pandemic just won’t go away, and many industries across the globe continue to experience its lingering impact. Mental fatigue coupled with supply chain constraints, labor shortages, and soaring inflation has left ugly conditions that make it hard for businesses to thrive. However, one industry in the USA is coming out strong amid the storm.
According to the latest round of figures released by the American Gaming Association, America’s commercial gaming industry is showing stellar performance. Nationwide gaming commercial revenue in Q1 totaled $14. 31 billion, setting a Q1 record while nearly squashing the all-time quarterly high of $14.35 billion in Q4 in 2021.
Breaking Down the State of the States Report
Reeling from the adverse effects of the COVID pandemic, the US commercial gaming industry had an impressive comeback in 2021 compared to 2020. This year, the industry seems to be on a roll, at least based on what we have seen so far in 2022, which started with a record-smashing showing in January.
In Q1, the rosy picture painted by the national revenue figures trickled down to the individual states, with most of them recording tremendous improvements from last year. For starters, 32 of the 34 commercial gaming jurisdictions in the USA saw improvements in their Q1 revenues compared to 2021.
Better still, three states, New York, Florida, and Arkansas, crushed their all-time quarterly records with $996. 6 million, $182 million, and $147.4 million wins, respectively. Mind you, as impressive as the figures are, they do not include the revenue collected by tribe-operated casinos. As a result, many experts in the commercial gaming scene anticipate that the tribal-owned casinos will also record historic performances.
The report highlights just how good New York’s arrival into the online sports betting market has been. With a launch in Q1, the Empire State quickly took its deserved position on the leaderboard of the market with quarterly revenues of $320.9 Million from a stunning handle of $4.87 Billion. Nonetheless, New York’s remarkable rise has not stopped its neighboring states from continuing to soar in numbers. For instance, New Jersey saw wagering activity improve by 34.9% from last year.
Meanwhile, comparing 2021 to the pandemic stricken 2020 and the last full year of operation, which is 2019, some of the other key takeaways from the State of the States report are as follows:
- 2021 set a new annual commercial gaming record of $53.03 billion. This marked a 21% jump from the previous peak recorded in 2019.
- Direct gaming tax revenue paid to state and local governments stood at $11.69 Billion, which is also a new high. This translates into a 75% improvement from 2020 and 15% from 2019.
- The top ten gaming jurisdictions for the year 2021 in order were: Las Vegas Strip, Atlantic City, Chicagoland, Baltimore-Washington DC, Gulf Coast, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis, and Boulder Strip.
Bill Miller, the AGA President, and Chief Executive Officer, reflected on the State of the States report in a statement saying in part:
Quote“Our industry’s success goes beyond the bottom line and into communities across the country. The record state and local tax contributions fund vital services from infrastructure and education to healthcare and emergency services.”
March Madness Delivers Mad Money
Of course, it was expected that the March figures would be outstanding, owing to the highly-anticipated NCAA Men’s basketball tournament many fondly refer to as “March Madness.” This was after another pretty impressive February that saw the country’s biggest sports spectacle – the Super Bowl.
After a tournament that eventually saw the Kansas Jayhawks lift the prestigious title, March 2022 delivered the highest gross gaming revenue month in industry history at $5.31 Billion. This year’s NCAA tournament will go down in history books as by far the most wagered on March Madness tournament in history unless the record is broken in the coming years.
Additional States Significantly Contributed to the Big Win
In 2021, seven more states joined the fold to legalize sports betting, and two additional states added internet gambling into their regulated gaming slates. These new jurisdictions have undoubtedly contributed to the incredible turnaround the country saw in 2021.
Overall, Americans wagered a whopping $57.7 billion last year, double the amount they spent on sports betting in 2020. However, it’s worth pointing out that the massive difference here was largely because the industry was slowly recovering from the peak of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Besides sports wagering, internet gaming also positively impacted the revenue totals, with a reported collective figure of $3.71 billion last year.
What Should We Expect From the Rest of 2022?
We’ve already seen how the likes of New York can shake up things in the online sports betting scene even though the markets are still considered newbies in the competitive industry. It remains to be seen whether other states can give veterans like New Jersey and Nevada a run for their money right after jumping into the ring.
With the NBA conference playoffs nearly winding up, there’s so much more to come in the sports betting scene in 2022. The anticipated return of the NFL and NHL will also serve as some of the key highlights of the exciting sports betting year ahead. Meanwhile, well shall keep an eye out for states like Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, and Ohio as they are already bursting with potential.
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