Operator News

US – Commercial gaming sets single month revenue record in January

By Phil - 17 March 2023

Coming off a record-setting 2022, the US commercial gaming industry saw continued strength to start the year, with January setting a new single month revenue record. According to revenue data reported by state regulators and compiled by the AGA, nationwide gaming industry win from traditional casino games, sports betting and iGaming reached $5.5bn in January 2023. This reflects a 21.1 per cent year-over-year increase and marks 23 consecutive months of growth.

Gaming revenue grew year-over-year across all verticals in January, with monthly sports betting revenue exceeding $1bn for the first time. Land-based casino revenue generated from slot machines and table games totaled $3.99bn and iGaming produced monthly revenue of $482m.

Although in-person gaming remains the bedrock of the revenue structure, the online gaming segment captured the largest share (26 per cent) of monthly revenue since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the trailing 12-month (TTM) period from February 2022 to January 2023, the industry’s $61.43m in revenue reflects 1.6 percent sequential growth over to the previous TTM period (January 2022 to December 2022), demonstrating the industry’s steady expansion.

At the state level, 31 of 33 commercial gaming jurisdictions that were operational one year ago and had reported at the time of writing posted year-over-year revenue growth in January. The sports betting market in Washington D.C. experienced a decline of 23.8 per cent compared to the previous year, likely due to increased competition from Maryland in the online betting segment. West Virginia revenue also declined by 6.3 per cent, largely due to one less week of reported operations in January 2023 compared to the same month last year.

Combined revenue from land-based casino slot machines and table games across the country reached $3.99bn in January, marking a 14.3 per cent increase from last year. Slots generated $2.86bn in revenue, a 15.5 per cent increase from the previous year, while revenue from table games gained 14.7 per cent, reaching $838m.

The comparison with January 2022 is generally favorable as concerns about Omicron impacted consumer behavior last year and there were two additional commercial casino markets in January 2023: 27 compared to 25. However, the casino calendar was less advantageous in 2023, with only eight weekend days compared to ten in January 2022.

Nationwide sports betting activity in January saw a significant boost, up 10.8 percent year over year, driven by a busy sports calendar and the launch of legal markets in Ohio on January 1 (retail and online betting) and Massachusetts on January 31 (retail). The total amount of money Americans wagered on sports for the month reached an all-time high of $10.9bn.

This surge in betting activity resulted in revenue of $1.02bn, a year-over-year increase of 58.2 per cent. The Ohio market alone generated gross revenue of $208.9m in its first month of operation, setting a single-month sports betting record for any state.

In January 2023, 29 commercial sports betting jurisdictions offered legal commercial sports betting, compared to 26 in January 2022. Customers in 24 jurisdictions had the option to place bets online, with three states (KS, MD, OH) launching mobile options over the past year. Excluding new sports betting markets and online expansions, revenue still increased by 14.9 percent from January 2022.

Combined January revenue generated by iGaming operations in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia increased by 20.6 per cent year-over-year to $482m, tying the single-month record from December 2022. All six markets reported annual growth for iGaming revenue with half – CT, MI, NJ – setting single-month state records for the vertical.

The distribution of commercial gaming revenue across verticals varies significantly in each of the four states with legalized land-based and mobile gaming. In Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the combined share of online sports betting and iGaming ranged from 24.0 percent in West Virginia to 64.4 per cent in Michigan.

It is worth noting that the share of Michigan’s revenue does not include the land-based gaming revenue generated by the state’s 23 tribal casinos.