Slump Reaches US Gambling

Americans spend less, we all know by now. That they spend less at casinos is news. That they spent $1.6 billion less in 2008 than the year before is alarming news.

A study released by the American Gaming Association finds that US casinos have seen revenues fall 4.7% in 2008, down from $34.1 billion to $32.5 billion.

They list economic reasons, which brought Americans to cut leisure spending, as well as other reasons, such as smoking bans that deterred gamblers. The economic slowdown, or recession, seems to have affected casino gambling as much as any other recreational industry.

Or has it? Commercial casinos are found in 12 states. In some, such as Pennsylvania, where a new racetrack casino drew gamblers from neighboring New Jersey, revenue actually rose.

Furthermore, Frank Fahrenkopf, AGA president, said he believed the worst is behind the casinos and numbers have stabilized late in 2008 and early this year.