How much money do casinos make

Americans gambled more money than ever before in

The nation’s casinos and gaming mobile apps rang up a record $53 billion in revenue last year, according to a report by the American Gaming Association. Revenue is up 21% from the previous annual record set in , which was just before the pandemic forced much of the industry’s casinos to close for months.

Bill Miller, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, called a “remarkable” year during a press conference on Tuesday.  

“Our incredible rate of recovery sets us apart from others in the hospitality sector and the broader economy,” says Miller. “I'm really optimistic about where we're headed. That optimism is rooted in our industry’s extraordinary recovery, topping $50 billion for the first time ever.”

The Las Vegas Strip is still king of gambling in America. The city brought in more than $7 billion in gross gaming revenue last year, according to the report. Atlantic City ranks number two with $ billion in gross gaming revenue and the Chicagoland area come in third with just over $2 billion.

Across the country’s 34 gaming jurisdictions, 23 set records for full year gaming revenue in

While the boom in mobile sports betting garners most of the attention these days, in-person gambling still reigns supreme. Revenue growth was driven by in-person casinos, not mobile sports betting and iGaming (mobile card, slot and table games). Combined slot, table and physical sportsbook revenue hit $ billion, or 85% of the total gambling revenue. Slot machines remain a sweet spot for casinos: revenue jumped 10% over for slots, while table game revenue only increased % during the same time.

Every market with physical casinos that feature slots, table games and in-person sports betting saw revenue increase from and 15 states beat gaming revenue.

While traffic is still down at casinos compared to pre-pandemic rates, an increase in consumer spending in most markets is carrying the industry to new heights. The average age of casino goers last year fell from 49 to 44 years old since the start of the pandemic.

Revenue from sports bettors is also on the rise. Last year, Americans wagered a record $ billion on sports, up % from , bringing in an all-time high in revenue of $ billion.

The growth is mostly due to seven new markets between and Every market except one—Delaware—hit an annual wagering record. Currently, more than million Americans can place a legal sports wager across 30 states. New Jersey, for the second year in a row, is the top sports betting market with $ million in sports betting revenue. Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Michigan, follow.

IGaming is also bringing in more money than ever before. In total, across six states that allow it, iGaming generated $ billion in revenue, up % from Two new states, Connecticut and Michigan, launched iGaming in New Jersey is also number-one in iGaming revenue, with Pennsylvania and Michigan in second and third place. All three states each generated $1 billion in gaming revenue last year, a record no state had done before.

Revenue reports from tribal casinos have not been released yet, but the AGA says Native American-owned casinos could report as much as $40 billion in revenue.

Looking towards , seven states are discussing sports betting, including California, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Four states are considering iGaming, including Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and New York.

But the big elephant in the room in terms of threats to growth and competition is illegal gambling, especially in the sports betting sector, says Miller.

“Look at New York or Louisiana—does anybody reasonably think that millions of people just decided to try out sports betting for the first time last month? Of course not,” says Miller. “Americans have been betting on sports as long as they've been sports to bet on, they just haven't had the legal opportunity to do it before. Raising awareness and attracting players to legal sportsbook is how we protect consumers, generate needed tax revenue and stamp out the illegal market.”