ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey –
U.S. commercial casinos earned $66.5 billion from players in 2023, the best year in the industry’s history, according to figures released by their national trade association on Tuesday.
The American Gaming Association said the total was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record year.
When revenue figures for tribally owned casinos are released separately later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gaming generated about $110 billion for U.S. casino operators in 2023.
All of that happened in a year in which inflation, while receding, still kept food and energy costs higher than before.
“From the traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ demand for gaming is at an all-time high,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the association.
Early last year, when the group presented its annual statistical assessment, “inflation was high and uncertainty was in the air. Forecasters couldn’t agree on what these challenges could do to discretionary income,” Miller said.
As the year went on, “inflation began to cool, consumers began to spend and the (Federal Reserve) kept rates stable,” he added. “The result was a record year for our industry.”
Not even the pre-holiday shopping crisis deterred gamblers from gambling their money: Casinos earned a record-setting $6.2 billion in December and $17.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In-person gaming remains the industry’s bread and butter. Slot machines generated $35.51 billion in 2023, an increase of 3.8% from the previous year. Table games generated $10.31 billion, an increase of 3.5%.
Sports betting generated $10.92 billion in revenue, up 44.5%. Americans legally bet $119.84 billion on sports, 27.8% more than the previous year.
Five new sports betting markets that went live in 2023 (Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Ohio) contributed to this and generated a combined revenue of $1.49 billion.
By the end of the year, Massachusetts and Ohio established themselves among the top 10 sports betting states in the country by revenue, New Jersey and Illinois surpassed $1 billion in annual sports betting revenue for the first time, and New York led all states with 1.69 billion dollars.
Internet gambling generated $6.17 billion, an increase of 22.9%. While Michigan and New Jersey each generated $1.92 billion in annual Internet gambling revenue, Michigan surpassed New Jersey by just $115,500 to become the largest Internet gambling market in the country. Pennsylvania ranked third with $1.74 billion in annual revenue.
Other states that offer Internet gambling include Connecticut, West Virginia and Delaware; Nevada only offers online poker.
Casinos paid approximately $14.42 billion in gaming taxes last year, up 9.7% from the previous year.
Nevada remains the nation’s top gaming market, with $15.5 billion in revenue. Pennsylvania comes in second at $5.86 billion, followed closely by Atlantic City at $5.77 billion.
New York is fourth with $4.71 billion, followed by Michigan with $3.58 billion; Ohio with $3.31 billion; Indiana with $2.82 billion; Louisiana with $2.69 billion and Illinois with $2.52 billion.
New York’s Resorts World casino regained the title of the best-performing American casino outside of Nevada. It was followed by the MGM National Harbor near Washington, DC, the Encore Boston Harbor and the Borgata in Atlantic City.
Of the 35 states that have commercial casinos, 31 saw revenue growth last year.
Jurisdictions where revenue decreased were Florida (-0.4%); Indiana (-2.3%) and Mississippi (-3.5%). The Washington, D.C.-only sports betting market saw a more significant drop, with revenue below 2022 by 17.6%, the largest drop in the country.