The gaming industry remains on track for another record-setting year, according to the AGA. Over the first ten months, commercial gaming revenue totaled just shy of $50bn, 14.7% ahead of the same 10-month period in 2021.
“Thanks to our resilience and record popularity, gaming is on a nearly two-year growth streak,” said AGA President Bill Miller in a tweet. “Here’s to finishing the year strong.”
Gaming revenue grew year-over-year across all verticals in October, per the AGA report.
Combined revenue from traditional slot machines and table games at brick-and-mortar casinos was just over $4bn, or 76.2% of total commercial gaming revenue. This was a 1.5% increase from the same period a year ago.
Slots made up the lion’s share of that total, generating revenue of just over $2.9bn, up 2.4% year-over-year. Table game revenue increased 1.9% to roughly $847m.
Year-to-date, casino slot machines and table games have grossed nearly $40bn, 7.4% ahead of the same ten-month period in 2021, per the AGA. At the state level, 21 of 25 commercial gaming states with slot and table gaming in 2021 saw combined revenue from these verticals grow through October.
New gaming verticals also set records
Online casino offerings such as slots and table games set a nationwide iGaming monthly record in October. Only five states – New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Connecticut – have competitive, commercial online casino gaming markets. These states were still able to gross more than half as much as the more than 30 US jurisdictions that have at least one legal sportsbook.
Largely driven by a busy sports calendar, September and October have seen the highest proportion of commercial gaming revenue come from these emerging verticals since the peak of pandemic-driven casino closures in 2020, according to the AGA. Sportsbooks benefited from Major League Baseball’s expanded postseason, college football and the NFL, perennially the most-wagered upon sports in the US.
November will feature not only NCAA and NFL football but also the first-ever fall soccer World Cup, along with regular season NHL, NBA and college basketball games.
More gaming figures
Across all gaming verticals, trailing 12-month (TTM) revenue, covering the past twelve consecutive months from November 2021 through October 2022, was $59.4bn, according to the AGA. TTM revenue has increased about one percent sequentially (compared to the preceding TTM period) which the association said in a statement underscores the industry’s continuing expansion.
At the individual level, 26 of 33 commercial gaming jurisdictions that were operational a year ago saw revenue growth compared to October 2021. Through the first ten months of 2022, just three jurisdictions (Washington DC, Mississippi and South Dakota) remain behind their gaming revenue pace compared to the same period in 2021.
October marked the first full month of operations for land-based casino slot gaming in Nebraska after it became America’s 27th commercial casino market on Sep. 24. The state’s first commercial racino grossed about $4.3m in revenue, per the AGA, with monthly revenue per slot machine matching or outpacing many properties in neighboring Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
