ATLANTIC CITY, NJ ( Associated Press) – America’s commercial casinos are off to their best two-month start yet, the latest sign the industry is recovering into its third year of the coronavirus pandemic.
Figures released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association, the gambling industry’s national trade association, showed revenue from in-person casino games, sports betting and Internet gambling reached $8.92 billion in January and February, up 19 percent from the previous record set. % is more. 2020.
The core of the gambling industry – in-person slot and table game revenue – stood at $7.18 billion in the first two months of 2022, down just less than 1% from $7.11 billion during the same period in 2020.
The figures do not include tribal-run casinos, many of which are experiencing similar growth.
“This record for the year demonstrates the continued pace of recovery of our industry in 2022,” said Bill Miller, the association’s president and CEO. “While it remains to be seen whether we match last year’s all-time high, it is clear that Americans are continuing to make gaming the entertainment choice of first choice.”
Only five states are behind their gambling revenue momentum at the start of 2020: Kansas (-11.7%), Louisiana (-2.3%), New Mexico (-6.4%), Oklahoma (-5.2%) and Rhode Island (-13.3%). ) )
The association attributed the low win for the two Rhode Island casinos to “New England’s highly competitive environment after Boston Harbor repeat in June 2019”, and said that Kansas casinos “felt the effects of additional competition from a new Aboriginal gaming facility”. continues to do” close to the largest commercial casino in the state. ,
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, visits to Las Vegas decreased by 21.5% since February 2020, but were up almost 70% from a year earlier.
Combined casino revenue from land-based slot machines and table games increased in 14 of 25 states during the first two months of 2022 compared to 2020.
Internet gambling revenue from Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia reached $373.4 million in February, down 6.5% from January’s record, but up 46.1% from a year ago.
Combined revenue from Internet gambling and sports betting accounted for just under 16% of commercial casino revenue in February, the lowest share total revenue since August 2021.
Last year was the best year ever for the US casino industry as it won $53 billion. Nearly $45 billion was won by in-person casino gamblers last year, a 6.6% increase from 2019.
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