US commercial gaming has surpassed its annual revenue record in 2022 with one month to spare, according to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker.
Data from AGA’s tracker – which measures state-by-state and nationwide US commercial gaming financials – also revealed that monthly GGR rose year-over-year for the 21st consecutive time in November, with only table games seeing a decrease on the year per gaming vertical after being heavily impacted by Nevada’s performance.
In November, US commercial gaming achieved a revenue of $5.02bn, an increase of 2.4% YoY, but a decrease compared to October’s $5.29bn.
Year-to-date, commercial gaming GGR stands at $54.93bn, which is not only 13.5% higher than the same period last year, but it also surpasses the previous annual record amount set in 2021 of $53.04bn with one month left to go in the year.
Per state, 21 of 33 commercial gaming states that were operational one year ago reported YoY revenue growth in November. The 12 jurisdictions that saw YoY dips were: Delaware (-10.8%), the District of Columbia (-40.4%), Indiana (-2.8%), Iowa (-8.1%), Louisiana (-18.2%), Maine (-0.4%), Mississippi (-4.5%), Missouri (-1.3%), Montana (-11.5%), Nevada (-7.6%), New Hampshire (-19.6%), and South Dakota (-6.2%).
The AGA highlighted Nevada’s 7.6% YoY decline since Las Vegas visitation and convention attendance actually improved by 4.9% YoY and 45.4% YoY respectively, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
YTD, only three jurisdictions are behind their GGR from a year ago – DC sports betting market (-14.7%), Mississippi (-3.7%), and South Dakota (-1.0%). However, the AGA stated Mississippi and South Dakota had tougher yearly comparatives as they “previously benefited from the relaxation of operating restrictions earlier than most other states”.
Table games GGR affected by Nevada
Table games was the only gaming vertical that did not see a YoY increase in November GGR, decreasing by 7.2% YoY instead to $771.9m. Slot machines GGR hit $2.76bn, an improvement of 1.9%.
Combined slot and table games revenue during the month was $3.82bn, down 0.4% YoY. YTD, the combined revenue for these verticals currently stands at $43.79bn, 6.7% better than the previous year.
AGA noted that the decrease in table games in November was impacted by Nevada, especially on the Vegas Strip which saw a 21.2% drop in wagering on tables and a 23.6% decline in table win.
Sports betting GGR reached $743.8m across 27 jurisdictions, only a 2.6% increase YoY when 25 jurisdictions were live. The AGA noted this was due to hold falling to 7.9% compared to 9.8% the previous year.
With Maryland introducing online sports betting alongside a busy sports calendar in November, US betting activity grew by 27% YoY, earning a handle of $9.4bn, a new high despite Arizona’s figures not being included since they hadn’t been reported by the time of the tracker’s publication.
YTD, sports betting revenue currently stands at $6.56bn, a 65.4% improvement YoY, with a total handle on the year so far of $83.13bn.
Igaming GGR – in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – hit $458.4m in November, a new monthly revenue record for the vertical, as well as growing by 33% YoY. YTD, igaming revenue is up 36.3% YoY to $4.54bn.
