The American Gaming Association has surveyed US-based CEOs and they have stated that they are confident in the gambling industry’s recovery based on the COVID-19 situation. Fitch Ratings was the partner in the AGA survey.
Gaming Executives Show Confidence in the Recovery
A total of 24 CEO respondents were included in the AGA survey and 67% of the CEOs have stated that the current business situation is “good.” That’s a decent improvement from six months ago when 54% of the respondents stated that the business situation is “poor.”
Bill Miller, AGA’s CEO, stated that gaming executives are showing confidence in the recovery process. He also shared a few words about his prediction on the gaming industry by saying that he’s optimistic that 2022 will result in the “return of a true sense of normalcy.”
Several CEOs included in the survey agree with Miller. Four out of 10 CEOs think that the gambling industry will improve in the next 2 quarters. On the flip side, 13% believe that it will worsen.
CEOs have also expressed some macroeconomic concerns. Supply chain issues are the top concern as it was named by 75% of the respondents, followed by inflationary and interest rate concerns, which were named by 67% of the respondents, and labor shortages, listed by 54% of the respondents.
Current and Future Conditions Index
There are two indices in the Gaming Industry Outlook – the Current Conditions Index and the Future Conditions Index. According to the Current Conditions Index of 93.5, activity related to casino gaming is a bit slower in Q1 of 2022 compared to Q4 of 2021. Over the last three quarters, the industry’s growth at an annualized pace was 16.5%.
The Future Conditions Index stands at 101.1 and it reflects the expansion of the casino industry in the past six months with an annualized rate of 1.1
One additional interesting piece of information connected to the survey is that 79% of the CEOs expect the wage pace and benefit growth to increase in the next 3-6 months and 50% of the surveyed CEOs believe that the process of hiring will increase as well.
AGA is also confident in the growth of the gambling industry. The association believes that online casinos, in particular, will continue to grow and that the days of illegal sites are numbered. That is why AGA called on the DoJ to crack down on these illegal sites.
Moreover, 53% of gaming operators are planning on investing a lot of capital in hotel facilities this year, 27% plan on investing more than normal on slots on casino floors and 33% want to invest more than normal in land-based sportsbooks.