Commercial Casinos Win $53B In 2021Slots, Sports Betting Drive The Gains |
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It was truly a V-shaped recovery for the U.S. commercial casino industry.
According to figures from the American Gaming Association released on Feb. 16, U.S. commercial casino gambling win reached a record $52.99 billion in 2021, 21 percent higher than the previous annual record, set in 2019. Gaming win nationwide fell sharply in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fourth-quarter nationwide gaming revenue was $14.31 billion, growing by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2019. More than two-thirds of casino gaming states (23 of 34) posted all-time revenue highs last year. Some of the spending was due to pandemic related stimulus money for individuals and households.
While gambling online through state-sanctioned operators is larger than ever, the record nationwide win in 2021 was driven mostly by retail play. According to the AGA, 2021 combined revenue from slots, table gaming, and casino sportsbooks totaled $45.62 billion, a 7.6 percent increase over 2019’s previous record.
Every state market with brick-and-mortar table games, slot machines, and/or casino sports betting saw traditional gaming revenue growth over the pandemic-hindered 2020, with 15 states besting their respective 2019 numbers.
“Contracting states were disproportionally impacted by lingering pandemic shutdowns and operating restrictions in the first quarter of 2021, including Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania,” the AGA said.
Slot revenue grew at a faster rate than table games in 2021, with some casinos in the country still having capacity limits at the tables due to COVID-19. Slot revenue was up 10.0 percent over 2019, compared to 1.1 percent growth for table games.
“In many states, COVID-related regulatory restrictions limited the number of players that could be seated at any table game, with some states still suspending certain table games at the start of the year (2021),” the AGA said.
Sports betting is the hottest game in the country right now because of its power as a customer acquisition tool for more lucrative gambling products, but sports betting is still growing on its own.
The market for legalized sports betting in the U.S. accelerated in 2021 as Americans wagered a record $57.22 billion with commercial sportsbooks, a 164.8 percent increase from 2020. Seven new commercial markets, as well as four tribal-only sports betting markets, kicked off in 2021. Revenue from state-sanctioned sports betting in 2021 was $4.29 billion.
With two new online casino markets in Connecticut and Michigan, internet slots, table games, and so on generated $3.71 billion across six states in 2021 (Nevada online poker was not factored in). Taken together, sports betting and online accounted for 15 percent of 2021 commercial gaming revenue—compared to 85 percent from retail in-person gambling gaming.
In 2019, when sports betting and online casino were operational in about half the markets, the two verticals generated just 3.3 percent of all commercial gaming revenue.
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