Commercial Casinos in US Report Strongest Gaming Results Since Pandemic Started

Casinos in the United States are enjoying a strong commercial start to the year with the first two months of 2022 turning out to be the strongest in the last couple of years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and brought many commercial operations to a grinding halt. The American Gaming Association, though, finally has some numbers to back this positive trade.

Commercial Casinos See Strong Uptick across All Verticals

The in-person casino games revenue, internet gambling, and sports betting collective reached $8.92 billion in January and February. This constitutes a 19% uptick in 2020 and is one of the strongest results posted so far. The trade group presented the numbers offering further breakdown as well, including $7.18 billion from in-person slots and table games. This constitutes a 1% increase on the $7.11 billion posted during the same period in 2020.

However, the numbers exclude tribal-run operations which are not covered by the American Gaming Association. However, the trade group confirmed that tribal operators were reporting a similar increase in revenue. AGA CEO Bill Miller said:

“This record start to the year demonstrates the sustained momentum of our industry’s recovery into 2022. While it remains to be seen if we’ll match last year’s all-time high, it’s clear that Americans are continuing to make gaming a first-choice entertainment option.”

AGA CEO Bill Miller

AGA also reported that despite the overall upward trend some states were down in overall gambling revenue, citing “Kansas (-11.7%), Oklahoma (-5.2%), Rhode Island (-13.3%) New Mexico at (-6.4%) and Louisiana (-2.3%).”

Some States Suffer as Competition Heats Up

Rhode Island’s results have diminished due to the emergence of more casinos in the New England region with the Encore Boston Harbor ramping up operations over the past years. Kansas casinos have been also suffering due to a newly-opened tribal gaming casino across the state border, which has been siphoning off customers.

While visitation rates to Las Vegas remained low compared to February 2020, the overall rates of visitors in Sin City went up 70% year over year according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Internet gambling in the meantime continued to climb up across key jurisdictions including Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and others.