Casinos across the United States have hit the jackpot, earning $66.5 billion from players in 2023, which was the best year in the history of the industry.
When revenue figures for tribally owned casinos are released separately later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gaming generated about $110 billion for U.S. casino operators in 2023.
The numbers were 10 percent higher than in 2022, which itself was a record year.
Nevada casinos alone raked in more than $15 billion from unlucky gamblers in 2023, with the state game control board recording profits of 1.43 billion dollars in the month of December alone.
All of that happened in a year in which inflation, while receding, still kept food and energy costs higher than before.
Much of the increase is due to renewed enthusiasm following COVID-19 casino closures, while high-profile events such as the Formula One Grand Prix in late November, the opening of the $2.3 billion Sphere and the inauguration of the Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino on December 13, also boosted results.
Casinos across the United States hit the jackpot, winning $66.5 billion from players in 2023, the industry’s best year, up 10 percent from 2022, which itself was a record year.
‘From traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ game demand is at an all-time high,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association.
Early last year, when the group presented its annual statistical assessment, “inflation was high and uncertainty was in the air.” Forecasters couldn’t agree on what these challenges could do to discretionary income,” Miller said.
As the year went on, “inflation began to cool, consumers began to spend and the (Federal Reserve) kept rates stable,” he added. “The result was a record year for our industry.”
Not even the pre-holiday shopping crisis discouraged players from depositing their money: Casinos earned $6.2 billion in December and $17.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, both of which set records.
Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University in New Jersey, which studies the gaming industry, said sports betting is still new enough to be attractive even to the budget-conscious.
“As a form of entertainment, legal sports betting can be a new and novel experience for many customers and, with its relatively low cost of entry, may be attractive to them even if their discretionary spending budget is limited,” he said.
In-person gaming remains the industry’s bread and butter. Slot machines generated $35.51 billion in 2023, an increase of 3.8 percent from the previous year. Table games generated $10.31 billion, an increase of 3.5 percent.
Sports bets generated $10.92 billion in revenue, an increase of 44.5 percent. Americans legally bet $119.84 billion on sports, up 27.8 percent from the previous year.
Nevada casinos alone raked in more than $15 billion from unlucky gamblers in 2023, with the state’s Gaming Control Board recording profits of $1.43 billion in the month of December alone.
Much of the increase is due to renewed enthusiasm following COVID-19 casino closures, while high-profile events such as the Formula One Grand Prix in late November, the opening of the $2.3 billion Sphere (in photo) and the inauguration of the Hotel Fontainebleau on December 13 and Casino, also boosted results
Five new sports betting markets that went live in 2023 (Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Ohio) contributed to this and generated a combined revenue of $1.49 billion.
By the end of the year, Massachusetts and Ohio established themselves among the top 10 sports betting states in the country by revenue, New Jersey and Illinois surpassed $1 billion in annual sports betting revenue for the first time, and New York led all states with $1.69. billion.
Internet gambling generated $6.17 billion, an increase of 22.9 percent. While Michigan and New Jersey each generated $1.92 billion in annual Internet gambling revenue, Michigan surpassed New Jersey by just $115,500 to become the largest Internet gambling market in the country.
Pennsylvania ranked third with $1.74 billion in annual revenue.
Other states that offer Internet gambling include Connecticut, West Virginia and Delaware; Nevada only offers online poker.
Casinos paid approximately $14.42 billion in gaming taxes last year, up 9.7 percent from the previous year.
Nevada remains the nation’s top gaming market, with $15.5 billion in revenue. Pennsylvania comes in second at $5.86 billion, followed closely by Atlantic City at $5.77 billion.
New York is fourth with $4.71 billion, followed by Michigan with $3.58 billion; Ohio with $3.31 billion; Indiana with $2.82 billion; Louisiana with $2.69 billion and Illinois with $2.52 billion.
Players play slot machines at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. The city earned $5.77 billion in gambling revenue in 2023.
New York’s Resorts World casino regained the title of the best-performing American casino outside of Nevada. It was followed by the MGM National Harbor near Washington, DC, the Encore Boston Harbor and the Borgata in Atlantic City.
Of the 35 states that have commercial casinos, 31 saw revenue growth last year.
Jurisdictions where revenue decreased were Florida (-0.4 percent); Indiana (-2.3 percent) and Mississippi (-3.5 percent).
The Washington, D.C.-only sports betting market saw a more significant drop, with revenue below 2022 by 17.6 percent, the largest drop in the country.