With very positive numbers in sports betting and online gaming, and low indicators in land-based gaming, the sector’s revenue information for October 2023 was released by the American Gaming Association (AGA). The organization revealed its traditional Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker, a state-by-state and cumulative insight into the U.S. commercial gaming industry’s financial performance based on state revenue reports.
In October 2023, the U.S. commercial gaming industry generated total revenue of USD 5.62 billion. The figure sets a record for the month of October, a 5.9% rise year-over-year, and the industry’s 32nd consecutive month of year-over-year growth.
With two months of reporting left in 2023, the cumulative revenue from traditional casino gaming, sports betting and iGaming is outpacing 2022’s record pace by 9.6%. Total gaming revenue through October stands at USD 54.40 billion, a figure that already exceeds the total revenue for the entirety of 2021 (USD 52.80 billion), the second highest-grossing year on record.
At the state level, 19 of 33 commercial gaming jurisdictions that were operational a year ago and had released full October data saw gaming revenue expand year-over-year. After the first ten months of 2023, Washington D.C. is trailing the same period in 2022 by 15.3%, while seven jurisdictions remain marginally behind last year’s gaming revenue pace: Florida (-0.9%), Indiana (-2.6%), Iowa (-0.9%), Maine (-0.3%), Mississippi (-3.9%), Missouri (-0.4%) and Oklahoma (-0.1%).
About online gaming, revenue saw a substantial surge in October 2023, growing 34.4% year-over-year. Online revenue growth is driven by the introduction of online sports betting in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Ohio within the past year.
GREAT SPORTS BETTING NUMBERS
A busy October 2023 sports calendar and the first full month of wagering in Kentucky propelled sports betting revenue to a new single-month record. Across 30 jurisdictions, operators reported USD 1.13 billion in revenue, marking a 38.8% increase compared to October 2022. This was a consequence of the successful launch in Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio and Maryland (online) within the last year. Without these five new markets, U.S. sports betting revenue in October expanded at a steady 7.9% year-over-year.
October also set a record for handle, with Americans wagering USD 12.16 billion on sports throughout the month, a 25.5% surge compared to October 2022. Without the five new markets, nationwide handle increased 3.3% year-over-year.
After the first ten months of the year, commercial sports betting revenue stands at USD 8.33 billion, 50.8% higher than the same period last year. Notably, sports betting revenue this year is already greater than full-year revenue for 2022, which amounted to USD 7.18 billion. Of the year-to-date total, the new markets accounted for 20.6%, or USD 1.72 billion.
Year-to-date handle reached USD 91.98 billion, 24.7% higher than the first ten months of 2022. Barring a dramatic slowdown in November and December, annual sports betting handle will surpass the USD 100 billion milestone this year.
iGAMING ALSO EVOLVING
The iGaming vertical continued its robust evolution with USD 533.6 million generated in October 2023 across the six active states. This reflects a 17.8% increase year-over-year and stands as the third highest-grossing month for iGaming nationwide.
After ten months, U.S. iGaming is poised for another record-breaking year. Through October, revenue stands at USD 5.02 billion, 23.1% higher than the same period last year.
LAND-BASED GAMING REVENUE IS FALLING
During October 2023, revenue from land-based gaming, covering casino slots, table games and retail sports betting, experienced a dip of 2.2% year-over-year. In October, traditional casino slot machines and table games collectively generated USD 3.95 billion in total revenue, a 2.1% decline year-over-year. Breaking down the numbers, slot machines contributed USD 2.89 billion in revenue, a 0.7% decrease, while table game revenue fell 4.5% to USD 805 million. Note that the individual slot and table game figures exclude data from Louisiana and Michigan due to differences in state reporting, but their combined figures contribute to the nationwide total. Through the first ten months of the year, combined revenue from casino slot machines and table games reached USD 41.01 billion, surpassing the same period last year by 2.7%.
At the state level, 20 of 27 commercial gaming states offering traditional brick-and-mortar gaming in 2022 posted year-over-year declines in October 2023, with three markets experiencing more substantial contractions.