Annual Gaming Revenue Reaches New High for Third Consecutive Year
The commercial gaming industry set a new revenue record for the third consecutive year in 2023, according to data compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA). Total revenue from land-based casino games, sports betting and iGaming reached $66.52 billion for the calendar year, a 10.0 percent increase over the previous record set in 2022.

With the inclusion of tribal gaming revenue, which will be reported by the National Indian Gaming Commission later this year, the total annual gaming revenue for the United States in 2023 will likely approach $110 billion.

Despite facing increasingly challenging comparisons, the gaming sector closed out 2023 on a positive note, with both all-time single-quarter and single-month records. The fourth quarter saw a 9.5 percent year-over-year increase as commercial gaming revenue reached $17.42 billion, while December generated $6.22 billion in revenue, a 13.3 percent increase year-over-year and a new single-month high.
 

In-Person Gaming Has Record Year, Online Segment Claims One-Quarter of Revenue Pie
Each of the primary verticals within the gaming industry – including casino slots and table games, sports betting and iGaming – set revenue records in 2023. Casino slots and table games collectively generated $49.36 billion in revenue, a 3.3 percent increase compared to 2022. Meanwhile, sports betting continued to see significant growth, increasing 44.5 percent from 2022 and reaching $10.92 billion in revenue. iGaming revenue also had another strong year, expanding 22.9 percent year-over-year to $6.17 billion.

Despite the continued expansion of online gaming, in-person gaming remains the bedrock of the industry. Commercial land-based gaming, encompassing casino slot machines, table games and retail sports betting, accounted for $50.02 billion, or 75.3 percent, of the total revenue in 2023. Meanwhile, online gaming generated $16.43 billion, representing 24.7 percent of total revenue.

Gaming Taxes Provide $14.4 Billion for State and Local Governments
As a result of the record-breaking commercial gaming revenue in 2023, the gaming industry significantly bolstered the income statements of state and local governments across the country. Commercial gaming operators paid an estimated $14.42 billion in gaming taxes throughout the year, a 9.7 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The expansion of gaming revenue in the fourth quarter also led to a record windfall in taxes for state and local governments in commercial gaming states. In Q4, commercial gaming operators paid an estimated $3.72 billion in gaming taxes, an increase of 8.5 percent year-over-year.

It’s important to note that these gaming tax figures include state and local taxes directly linked to gaming revenue, which are reported on a monthly or quarterly basis. They do not include annual fees or sports betting excise tax payments to the federal government. Additionally, these figures do not encompass the billions more paid by the industry in terms of income, sales, payroll and various corporate taxes.

Chicagoland Regains Top 3 Position Among Casino Markets
In 2023, 12 of the top 20 commercial casino gaming markets reported revenue growth compared to the previous year. Las Vegas Strip (NV) and Cleveland (OH) markets showed noteworthy gains, while the Baltimore-Washington DC market contracted most due to intensified regional competition.

For a fourth consecutive year, the Chicagoland (IL/IN) and Baltimore-Washington, D.C (DC/MD/WV) markets traded places as the third and fourth largest markets. The addition of two new casinos bolstered Chicagoland’s position, allowing it to reclaim its spot as the third-largest market. Further down the rankings, Black Hawk/Central City (CO) rose by two spots while the Poconos (PA) and Lake Charles (LA) markets gained one place each. Conversely, the Memphis (AR/MS) market posted a -4 percent revenue decline and dropped four positions in the ranking.

Resorts World NYC Emerges as Top Non-Nevada Casino
At the individual property level, 11 of the top 20 highest grossing commercial casinos outside of Nevada and Mississippi saw an uptick in combined land-based gaming revenue from slot machines, table games and retail sports betting compared to 2022.

Resorts World NYC reclaimed its position as the highest grossing commercial property outside Nevada, surpassing MGM National Harbor (MD). Meanwhile, Borgata (NJ) surpassed Live! (MD) to secure the fourth spot in terms of revenue for the year. The two Maryland properties, both located between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, faced escalating competition from neighboring Virginia and Pennsylvania, impacting their revenue performance.

Noteworthy gains were also observed at Horseshoe Indianapolis (IN), which climbed five places, as well as Southland Casino (AR) and Ocean Casino Resort (NJ), all three properties seeing double-digit increases in land-based gaming revenue.

Top Gaming States Grow in 2023
Among the 35 commercial gaming jurisdictions that were operational in both 2022 and 2023, 31 increased combined revenue from land-based casino games, sports betting and iGaming. Of these, 28 jurisdictions posted new annual records, including nine of the 10 highest grossing commercial gaming states.

Among those jurisdictions with annual revenue declines in 2023, three states had low single digit percentage contractions: Florida (-0.4%), Indiana (-2.3%) and Mississippi (-3.5%). The sports betting-only market of Washington, D.C., had a more significant decline, with revenue trailing 2022 by 17.6 percent, marking the largest drop among all jurisdictions.

During the fourth quarter, revenue increased in 25 of 34 commercial gaming jurisdictions where complete data is available compared to Q4 2022. Additionally, 17 of these states achieved record-high revenue figures for a single quarter, highlighting the geographic diversity of gaming’s strong performance to end the year.

Traditional Casino Gaming Sets Annual Record in 15 States
In 2023, traditional casino gaming generated record revenue of $49.36 billion from slot machines and table games, reflecting 3.3 percent growth compared to the previous year. While traditional casino gaming’s rate of annual growth slowed compared to 2022, it outpaced the years leading up to the pandemic.

Both slot machine and table game revenue reached individual annual records in 2023, with slot revenue growing by 3.8 percent year-over-year to $35.51 billion and table games growing by 3.5 percent to $10.31 billion. The separate slot and table game figures do not include data from Louisiana and Michigan, though their aggregates are captured in the combined figure.

At the state level, 19 out of the 27 states offering traditional casino gaming witnessed an uptick in combined revenue from slot and table games compared to 2022. Among these states, 15 achieved new state revenue records, underscoring the widespread growth and success of the land-based casino industry across various regions.

Illinois and Arkansas were notable gainers in terms of traditional casino gaming, with combined revenue from slot machines and table games experiencing robust increases of 13.0 percent and 8.9 percent respectively.

Four new casinos opened in Illinois during 2023, propelling traditional casino revenue to $1.52 billion, the strongest year for this vertical since 2013. Even on a same-store basis, it was Illinois casinos’ highest-grossing year since 2017.

Each of Arkansas’ three casinos reported record revenue from traditional casino games, with Southland Casino experiencing the most significant year-over-year growth at 12.1 percent. Notably, in its fourth year of full casino operation, the West Memphis property broke into the ranks of the highest grossing casinos in the country (outside of Nevada and Mississippi).

Indiana saw the steepest drop (-3.4%) in traditional casino revenue, likely influenced by new casino openings across the border in Illinois. Increased cross-border competition also impacted slot and table game revenue for casinos in Maryland (-3.3%), Mississippi (-3.0%) and Iowa (-1.2%), while a labor dispute at Detroit’s commercial casinos drove a -2.7 percent decline in Michigan’s revenue.

The record-breaking year for traditional gaming coincided with nearly pre-pandemic levels of casino visitation. According to AGA research, 41 percent of the adult population, or 102 million Americans, visited a casino for gambling or other reasons in the past year. This marks a significant increase from 34 percent in 2022 and is just shy of the 44 percent recorded in 2019.

iGaming Revenue Surpasses $6 Billion
Despite the absence of new market launches, U.S. iGaming continued its impressive growth in 2023, again posting record-breaking revenue. Combined iGaming revenue from six active states (excluding Nevada’s poker-only market) reached $6.17 billion, a 22.9 percent increase year-over-year.

While Michigan and New Jersey each generated $1.92 billion in annual iGaming revenue, Michigan outperformed New Jersey by just $115,500 to become the largest iGaming market in the country. Pennsylvania rounded out the top three iGaming markets with $1.74 billion in annual revenue.

Each of the six iGaming markets achieved new annual revenue records, with revenue expanding between 3.3 percent (Delaware) and 44.7 percent (Connecticut’s second full year) compared to the previous year.

The year concluded on a high note for the iGaming vertical, setting a new quarterly revenue record of $1.68 billion, up 20.6 percent from Q4 2022.