The American Gaming Association (AGA) has published its Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker report for April 2022, declaring that it was the best month of April ever and the second-highest-grossing month of all time.
The association also stated that the industry has made strong improvements through the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2021, adding that another record-setting year is possible despite macroeconomic challenges.
April’s total gross gaming revenue finished slightly behind March’s all-time monthly record, reporting a total GGR of $4.99bn, a 12.4% increase YoY despite widespread macroeconomic concerns, but a small 6.8% drop on the previous month.
The AGA noted that YoY improvements were expected, as April 2021 still saw the industry operating with COVID restrictions in place.
Per vertical, slots contributed the most towards the overall total GGR with $2.95bn (2.2% increase YoY), followed by table games with $786.7m (26.3% rise YoY), sports betting with $497.5m (74.6% growth YoY/67.9% YoY uptick excluding new markets), and igaming with $416.4m (38.8% improvement YoY/31.2% increase excluding new markets).
Through the first four months of the year, the gaming industry’s total GGR stands at $19.33bn, a 24.2% uptick YoY, with slots contributing the most per vertical with $11.14bn, followed by table games ($3.17bn), sports betting ($2.05bn), and igaming ($1.62bn).
Taking into account the year’s performance so far, the AGA believes 2022 has the potential to be another record-setting year, even though macroeconomic troubles remain, including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rising inflation rates.
Examining GGR by state, the association noted that 24 of 31 commercial gaming states that were operational one year ago posted YoY revenue growth in April.
Through the first four months of 2022, nearly all states are well ahead of their 2021 comparisons, with the exceptions being the DC sports betting market (-32.0%), Kansas (-0.3%), Mississippi (-1.2%), and South Dakota (-1.6%).
Legacy casino markets Mississippi (-21.1%) and South Dakota (13.2%) saw significant YoY changes in April.
Casino visitation levels were down YoY in April in four of the five states that report admission data (IL, IA, LA, MS, MO), with Mississippi registering the largest decline (-12.9%). Visitation was down in April by an average of 12.3% across the five states compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Las Vegas visitation jumped 31.4% YoY and was only down 4.5% on April 2019’s numbers.
Combined gaming revenue from land-based slot machines and table games grew in 20 of 25 states compared to 2021, while year-to-date revenue was down in three markets: Kansas (-0.3%), Mississippi (-1.3%), and South Dakota (-2.1%).
