US sports betting is heading for a record year of revenue after posting strong annual growth in Q3, according to the American Gaming Association.
Per the AGA’s Commercial Gaming Tracker, the US sports betting market generated revenue of $2.15bn during Q3 of 2023, marking annual growth of 22.8%. However, the AGA noted that the growth rate had slowed down compared to Q2, owing to the slower sporting calendar.
Almost all the growth in the sports betting industry was generated from new state launches in the last year including Maryland’s online launch, Nebraska’s retail launch, Ohio and Massachusetts. Organic growth was just 2.7% year-over-year.
Handle in Q3 stood at just over $23bn, up nearly 33% YoY, largely driven by new market launches, while the operators’ hold rate was slightly down compared to one year ago.
The AGA also noted that sports betting was on course for a record-setting year as sportsbooks have registered $7.1bn in revenue for the year-to-date, up 51% YoY.
Meanwhile, the online casino vertical enjoyed its best-ever quarterly revenue figure in Q3 as operator income surpassed $1.5bn. This is up 22.6% YoY and a new record, driven by individual state records in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
For the year-to-date, online casinos have registered $4.5bn in revenue, marking an uptick of 23.8% YoY.
The good news kept on coming in the AGA’s report, as the trade body also noted a new land-based casino quarterly record for revenue.
Land-based casinos generated $12.6bn in revenue during the third quarter, up 0.9% YoY. Retail slot GGR reached $8.98bn, up 1.7% and table games generated $2.64bn, up 3.8% annually.
For the YTD, slots have made $26.7bn and table games have yielded $7.6bn.
An AGA statement read: “State and local governments in gaming states saw an influx of direct gaming taxes in the third quarter. Commercial gaming operators paid an estimated $3.43bn in taxes tied directly to gaming revenue, an increase of 4.7% year-over-year.
“With three quarters of the year complete, the commercial gaming industry is on track to provide a record level of tax support for state and local governments: the industry has paid approximately $10.68bn in gaming taxes during the first nine months, 9.9% more than the same period in 2022.”
