2022 was the best year yet for casino and iGaming in the United States. Recently released data from the American Gaming Association showed that the US gambling revenue in the first 11 months of 2022 eclipsed the total recorded in 2021. Understandably, 2021 was a year of recovery for the entire gambling industry after the harsh downturn that accompanied the pandemic. But little did anyone imagine that 2022 would blow pre-pandemic years out of the water.
According to the American Gaming Association, the US posted a total of $54.93 billion in revenue with one month to spare in 2022. This figure was a massive 13.5% jump from the previous record of $53.04 billion in 2021. Interestingly, the record-breaking revenue did not include income from tribal casinos across the country. The calculations were solely based on online gaming, retail casino gambling and sports betting.
While the nationwide industry achieved impressive growth, thirty individual states also posted year-over-year growths. The US has thirty-three jurisdictions where commercial gaming is legal, so it was positive news to see 90% of the states pulling more revenue weight than they did in the previous years. Of the three other states, Washington DC ended 2022 worse, with a 15% revenue drop in its sports betting market.
New York turned out to be the nation’s sports betting capital, as it pooled $16.7 billion in online betting handle. Sportsbooks in the Empire State would eventually record a modest $1.4 billion revenue from the total amount wagered.
Nevada, on the other hand, set itself as the centerpiece of online gambling in the US. It generated $13.5 billion worth of gaming revenue in only 11 months, breaking its previous record of $13.4 billion. And Pennsylvania appeared to be the most balanced, with the state experiencing record-breaking months with both retail casino operations and sports betting.
Slots and table games returned the highest revenue ion the US in 2022 with a whopping $43.79 billion. This figure represents a 6.7% boost from the revenue recorded between January to November 2021. More mind-blowing is the fact that sports betting revenue jumped 65.4% over the same 11-month period in 2022 to record $6.56 billion from a total handle of $83.13 billion.
There are growing speculations of what 2023 holds. But it is clear for all to see that the gambling industry is on an upward trajectory. In the absence of any economic headwind, we might see another record at the end of year, especially with new states legalizing sports betting.