Casino gaming revenues in U.S. top $16B in second quarter
U.S. commercial gaming continued its long run of consecutive quarterly revenue growth in the second quarter, hitting a Q2 record of $16.07 billion, according to the American Gaming Association’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker.
The total outpaced Q2 2022 by 8.1 percent and marked the 10th consecutive quarter of annual growth for the commercial gaming industry.
And while the news is good overall, Mississippi is one of three states that has not seen growth year over year.
According to AGA’s revenue tracker, Mississippi casinos brought in $617.8 million in the second quarter, a loss of 6.2% revenue from last year. Year to date, the state has had reported revenue of $1,261.7 billion about a 5% less than 2022.
AGA says most of the slowdown in revenue is coming from the Tunica region, where traditional gaming revenue was down by -13.3% in the first half of the year.
This compares with more muted declines in the state’s central (-3.5%) and coastal (-1.9%) regions. AGA says Tunica’s loss is seen as losing market share to Southland Casino in Arkansas, which saw traditional gaming revenue surge 19.3 percent in the first half of the year and is now one of the highest grossing casino properties outside of Nevada.
WXXV has reached out to the Mississippi Gaming Commission for comment on these numbers.
Q2 2023 is the second-highest grossing quarter in industry history, topped only by Q1 2023, making H1 2023 the commercial gaming industry’s strongest half ever. The $32.71 billion in commercial gaming revenue generated in the first six months of 2023 tracks 11.9 percent ahead of the same period last year.
The industry’s strong performance has resulted in an estimated $7.28 billion in direct gaming tax revenue for state and local governments through the first six months of the year. Pacing 12.9 percent ahead of last year, 2023 is on pace to generate more gaming tax revenue than any previous year.
“While commercial gaming is on track for an unprecedented third consecutive year of record revenue, the lasting impact we’re making on our communities through this record growth is even more impressive,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller.
While land-based gaming continues to account for more than three-quarters of total commercial revenue, the industry’s year-over-year growth is being driven by the online sports betting and iGaming sectors.
Q2 revenue from land-based slots, table games and retail sports betting totaled $12.38 billion, a slight increase (+0.9%) compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, revenue from online gaming rose 43.1 percent year-over-year in Q2 to $3.68 billion, in part driven by the introduction of mobile sports betting in Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts and Ohio within the past year.
