Data recently compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA) from state regulatory disclosures shows that the U.S. commercial gaming revenue growth has accelerated in the second quarter 2024, driven by continued progress in sports betting and iGaming, as well as casino expansions in Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia. The ‘Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker’ by AGA is a state-by-state and cumulative insight into the U.S. commercial gaming industry’s financial performance based on state revenue reports.
Moreover, combined revenue from commercially operated land-based casinos, sports betting, and iGaming increased by 8.9 percent year-over-year, reaching USD 17.63 billion for the quarter. In fact, Q2 2024 was the 14th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and its highest-grossing Q2 revenue performance on record.
SPORTS BETTING DRIVES ONLINE REVENUE EVOLUTION
The U.S. commercial gaming industry realized year-over-year advance across both land-based and online gaming in Q2 2024. Quarterly revenue from land-based gaming -including casino slots, table games and retail sports betting- totaled USD 12.57 billion, 1.6 percent higher than Q2 2023. The rate of augmentation for land-based gaming improved slightly year-over-year from Q2 2023 and significantly from Q1 2024.
Meanwhile, online gaming revenue growth comprising iGaming and online sports betting reaccelerated sequentially in 2024, increasing 32.5 percent year-over-year compared to 21.8 percent in Q1 2024, driven largely by online sports betting. At the same time, growth in total online revenue is clearly moderating, with Q2 2024’s 32.5 percent expansion below the nearly 44 percent year-over-year gains seen in Q2 2023.
Combined revenue from online sports betting and iGaming was USD 5.04 billion in Q2 2024 as online gaming made up 28.6 percent of commercial gaming revenue, down slightly from each of the past two quarters.
GAMING TAXES BOLSTERED STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
State and local governments in gaming states benefited from billions of dollars in direct gaming taxes in the second quarter of this year. Commercial gaming operators paid an estimated USD 3.73 billion in taxes tied directly to gaming revenue, an increase of 4.0 percent year-over-year.
These gaming tax figures only cover specific state and local taxes directly linked to gaming revenue that are reported monthly or quarterly. Fees that are levied on an annual basis are not covered, nor are sports betting excise tax payments to the Federal Government. The figures also do not encompass the billions of additional tax dollars paid by the industry on income, sales, payroll or various corporate taxes.
GREAT INDICATORS FOR LAND-BASED CASINO GAMING REVENUE
Of the 33 operational commercial gaming jurisdictions that had complete data available through June and operations, 24 increased second-quarter revenue compared to 2023. Traditional brick-and-mortar casino gaming revenue expanded annually by 1.8 percent in the second quarter, with slot machines and table games generating USD 12.49 billion in revenue.
After a sluggish start to the quarter in April 2024, brick and mortar revenue increased year-over-year in two of the three months in Q2, rising in May and June.
Individually, both slot and table game revenue climbed in the second quarter from the previous year. Nationwide, casino slot machines generated USD 9.06 billion in Q2 2024, up 1.9 percent from the previous year, while table games produced USD 2.52 billion, a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase. The separate slot and table game figures do not include data from Louisiana and Michigan, where traditional casino gaming information is reported in aggregate rather than as separate verticals.
At the state market level, Q2 2024 results were thoroughly mixed with 15 of 27 markets posting traditional casino revenue declines compared to the prior year by an average of 3.3 percent. The 12 states that expanded traditional casino revenue in the second quarter (by an average of 9.7%) were led by Virginia, Nebraska, and Illinois which each continued to benefit from new property openings.
STRONG PERFORMANCE OF SPORTS BETTING
Second quarter sports wagering revenue grew 35.3 percent to USD 3.16 billion, a 35.3 percent increase year-over-year and setting a new record for second-quarter revenue. New market launches in Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina and Vermont since last spring contributed to a robust commercial sports betting handle of USD 31.75 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a 32.8 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Besides, second quarter sports betting hold escalated to 9.96 percent from 9.77 percent last year. Note that data for June sports betting in Arizona and Oregon had not been released at the time of publication.
INTERANNUAL EXPANSION OF iGAMING
Annualized iGaming growth remained strong in the second quarter of 2024, generating USD 1.97 billion of revenue across seven states, up 25.2 percent over the second quarter of last year. Sequentially, iGaming revenue declined slightly (less than one percent) from the first quarter of this year. This is the second year in a row with softening iGaming revenue between the first and second quarters.
Each of the six iGaming states with 2023 comparisons grew year-over-year in the second quarter, led by 264 percent growth in Delaware powered by the Delaware Lottery’s new iGaming partner Rush Street Interactive. Each of the other six pre-existing iGaming markets posted annualized quarterly growth of 20-39 percent.
Compared to the first quarter of the year, iGaming revenue expanded in Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia and New Jersey, while contracting in Connecticut, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Year-to-date through June, national iGaming revenue stands at USD 3.95 billion, a 25.6 percent increase over the same period last year.