In Nevada, a growing economy alongside increased competition among games manufactures reportedly helped the state’s casinos to record a 4.3% increase year-on-year in aggregated August slot revenues to slightly over $952.4 million.

According to a Thursday report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal citing official information from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the most recent figure means that the western state’s comparable slot win has risen for six of the first eight months of 2019 while the fiscal year tally is now some 3.5% higher at well over $1.9 billion.

September improvement:

The Nevada Gaming Control Board also reportedly detailed that the first 26 days of September had seen it collect approximately $50 million in aggregated taxes from slots, which represented a swell of about 6.9% year-on-year, to give it a year-to-date reckoning around 20% higher at $180.5 million.

Short-term optimism:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the August unemployment rate in Nevada improved by some 42,100 jobs year-on-year to stand at just 4.1% although fears remain that this bubble may be about to burst to trigger a recession. Todd Eilers from boutique research firm Eilers and Krejcik Gaming purportedly told the newspaper that slot win in ‘The Silver State’ is following a broader nationwide trend and that he expects this pattern to continue until at least the end of the year.

Eilers reportedly told the newspaper…

“You’re seeing a pretty healthy growth in slot machine revenues. You’ve got key indicators on the economic side like low unemployment, relatively low gas prices, fairly positive consumer sentiment and job growth. Certainly there are worries about the economy and consumers. There’s a higher risk of slowdown based on that data but for the remainder of the year things continue to look fine.”

Innovative improvements:

For his part, Marcus Prater, Executive Director for the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, reportedly told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Nevada slot machine market was moreover benefiting from the ‘variety of new games and new machines’ being released that are ‘more diverse’. He purportedly moreover expressed optimism about the sector’s short-term future with revenues likely to be driven by ‘competition and the product and the games’.

Prater reportedly told the newspaper…

“As long as these slot companies continue to fight it out amongst themselves for the best games, then the operators who want to buy those will continue to see the benefits.”

Developer competition:

Prater reportedly furthermore explained that Nevada’s slot machine industry has recently gone through a period of consolidation with firms such as Aruze Gaming Incorporated, Everi Holdings Incorporated, Ainsworth Game Technology Limited and Konami Gaming Incorporated responding by either entering the market or expanding their presence. For more established players such as Scientific Games Corporation and International Game Technology, he pronounced that the appearance of these new rivals had been ‘a kick in the pants’ and ‘a wake-up call’ that subsequently prompted these veteran firms to begin developing stronger and even more advanced games.

Prater reportedly told the newspaper…

“If they don’t stay on top of their game, these other companies will take away market share.”