American Gaming Association Reports Land-based Growth in 22 out of 24 American States for 2018

The US land-based sector has posted extremely strong returns.

Record Growth

American Gaming Association figures reveal another all-time revenue record for the US land-based commercial sector in 2018, with growth turned in by 22 out of 24 states.

The annual AGA State of the States report tracking the performance of the 465 commercial casinos across the US indicates total casino gaming revenue totaled $41.68b in 2018, for 3.5% year-on-year improvement from the 2017 report to mark a fourth consecutive year growth.

Majority Gains

Of the 24 states with land-based operations in the US in 2018, 12 of those reported reported record annual revenue. Only Illinois (-2.4%) and West Virginia (-0.1%) declined.

Government Benefits Peak

State government benefits also reached record highs, with 2018’s record haul up 31% year-on-year to $9.71b.

Wagering Figures

The landmark permission of legal sports betting following the May 2018 Supreme Court ruling legalising sports betting for states resulted in 7 more states legalizing single game wagering to boost cumulative annual wagering revenue to $430.2m on the heels of 2017's $261.3m take.

State-by-State

The highest earning state was of course Nevada, where revenue touched $11.9b (+3%), followed by with Pennsylvania ($3.25b, +0.75%) in distant second.

The rest of the reporting states were bunched tightly, with New Jersey ($2.9b, +9.2%) on top, followed by New York ($2.59b, +10.2%) and Louisiana ($2.56b, +0.01%).

The strongest improvement was turned in by Massachusetts (+65.7%), driven by the August opening of MGM Springfield.

State Government Takes

The largest percentage of state take was turned in by Pennsylvania, where the local government collected just under $1.5b (+3.2%); with New York in second at $1.1b (+7.7%) and Nevada’s more adapted tax system bringing to government coffers $850m (-1.9%).
Commercial Outlet Figures

Commercial casino outlets are areas where gaming is concentrated, and AGA reports that the Las Vegas Strip led this category at a $6.6b take; followed by Atlantic City at $2.5b; Chicagoland (covering operations either side of the Illinois-Indiana border third ($1.95b); Baltimore-Washington fourth ($1.88b); and New York City at $1.45b.

Outlook

With the hoopla surrounding the allowance of sports betting in America, the context of the impact on the greater gaming market in the US is well informed with the AGA's land-based figures, with the sports betting figures representing straight percentage gains figure to add in to previous gaming market revenue data.