The American Gaming Association has declared an eighth straight record-breaking quarter for the US commercial gambling industry in the first quarter of 2023, with gross gaming revenue reaching $16.6bn.
Publishing the latest Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker report for Q1 2023, the AGA stated that GGR grew by 15.5 per cent year-over-year with every vertical improving compared to Q1 2022.
March revenue was also higher compared to the previous year by 10.3 per cent, hitting a new single-month revenue record of $5.9bn.
Out of the country’s 35 commercial gaming markets, 18 managed to achieve new Q1 revenue records, while Mississippi was the only state to not beat its Q1 2022 figures.
The states that set new revenue highs were Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.
Commenting on the results, AGA President and CEO Bill Miller, said: “After two full years of successive growth post-COVID, the US gaming industry has never been stronger.
“With records across every gaming vertical—from brick-and-mortar casinos to mobile gaming—American adults continue to choose gaming as one of their top entertainment options.”
Breaking down Q1 by vertical, the combined revenue from land-based casino slot machines and table games rose by 7 per cent YoY to $12.3bn, surpassing the previous high set in Q3 2022 of $12.26bn.
Slot GGR improved by 13.8 per cent YoY to $8.83bn, while table games rose by 13.5 per cent to $2.5bn.
Several states were able to attribute the quarter’s growth to “fewer, but higher spending patrons” as casinos in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri reported an average increase in revenue per admission of 37.7 per cent.
Out of the 25 states that had land-based casino operations a year ago, 23 witnessed an improvement in gaming revenues, with Louisiana and Mississippi being the only states seeing declines of 0.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively.
Looking at individual properties outside of Nevada, 17 of the top 20 highest-grossing commercial casinos in terms of gaming revenue achieved growth.
MGM National Harbor in Maryland led the way, followed by Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts and Live! Casino in Maryland rounding off the top three.
Igaming and sports betting set new quarterly revenue records. Igaming income grew by 22.7 per cent YoY to $1.48bn despite the number of markets which offer igaming remaining at just six across the country.
Meanwhile, sports betting GGR improved by 70.1 per cent YoY to $2.79bn, largely due to new market launches in Kansas, Massachusetts and Ohio, with the latter becoming the country’s second-largest sports betting market behind New York.
A record $31.11bn was wagered on sports in Q1, up 15.1 per cent YoY following handle growth in 15 out of 26 betting markets operating in Q1 2022 as well as the three new markets mentioned above.
The AGA has also released the State of the States report for 2022, revealing that tax revenue paid directly to state and local governments from commercial gaming was up 15.3 per cent from 2021 figures to $13.48bn.
Miller added: “As one of the biggest taxpayers in states across the country, we know that when gaming is successful, so are our communities.
“Beyond our significant tax contributions, our industry is engrained in local communities, bolstering economic development through job creation, supporting local charities and nonprofits, and setting the standard on corporate responsibility.”