The U.S. commercial gaming sector has hit a new milestone with its revenues reaching $17.63 billion in the second quarter of 2024, as reported by the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. This performance represents the 14th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and sets a new high for Q2 earnings historically.

Diverse growth across gaming verticals:

The growth in gaming revenue was widespread across the nation with 24 jurisdictions experiencing increases compared to the previous year. The overall commercial gaming revenue contributed significantly to state coffers, generating $3.73 billion in direct state taxes.

In a detailed breakdown of the sectors, both traditional land-based venues, including brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, and online platforms saw positive growth trajectories. Land-based gaming, however, still dominates the market, accounting for 71.4% of the total revenue, while online gaming claimed the remaining 28.6%. Notably, the growth rate for online gaming has moderated somewhat, decelerating from nearly 44% in the same quarter the previous year to 32.5% this year.

The brick-and-mortar casino sector posted a modest year-over-year increase of 1.8%, generating $12.49 billion. This was supported by stronger performance in the latter part of the quarter.

The sports betting segment witnessed a significant surge, with Americans betting a substantial $31.75 billion. This activity generated $3.16 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 35.3% from the previous year, fueled by new market launches in states like Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, and Vermont.

iGaming also saw impressive growth, hitting a record $1.98 billion in revenue, up 26.1% year-over-year, boosted notably by Rhode Island’s market debut in March.

David Forman, AGA Vice President of Research, commented, “While sports betting and iGaming continued to drive overall industry revenue growth in the second quarter, new brick-and-mortar property openings in Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia also led to rising traditional commercial gaming revenue. Across the country, land-based gaming markets are seeing mixed year-over-year comparisons due to slower consumer spending economy-wide, which may continue to be a factor through the remainder of 2024.”

Economic influence and industry analysis:

The AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker provides comprehensive data, offering state-by-state and cumulative insights into the financial performance of the U.S. commercial gaming industry based on state revenue reports. This analysis covers 37 states and the District of Columbia, all of which featured operational commercial gaming markets as of the first quarter of 2024.

The AGA also evaluates the economic impact of gaming, regulatory frameworks, and the location of casinos through its State of Play Map, covering both commercial and tribal gaming sectors.

As the national trade group representing the U.S. casino industry, the AGA plays a crucial role in fostering a regulatory and business environment conducive to the growth of legal, regulated gaming. With a diverse membership comprising commercial and tribal casino operators, sports betting and iGaming entities, and gaming suppliers, the AGA leads an industry that contributes $329 billion to the economy and supports 1.8 million jobs nationwide.