America’s romance with gaming, including U.S. sports betting, has gone unabated as numbers continue to grow for virtually all sectors of the market. May 2023 proved to be the 27th consecutive month of annual growth.
Gaming Growth Climbs
According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), May numbers showed that gaming is alive and well in the United States as evidenced by a combined total of $5.49 billion in revenue, an increase of 6.4% over May 2022. It was the 27th consecutive month of year-over-year gaming increases.
We also saw that of the 33 states in which gaming was live last May, a total of 24 posted increases. The 28 states that offered sports betting last May reflected a whopping 41.5% year-over increase.
Three of the four gaming verticals showed year-over-year increases except for table games which saw a 4.8% drop. The nationwide numbers in May showed the following:
- Slot machine GGR: $2.98 billion
- Table game GGR: $834.3 million
- Sports betting GGR: $864.1 million
- Online casino GGR: $498.4 million
Total GGR: $5.49 billion
Online casino gaming, or iGaming as it is sometimes referred to, is licensed, and regulated in only six states but the combined gross gaming revenue was $498.4 million, a 22.4% increase over the same time last year.
First Five Months of 2023
Commercial gaming revenue has spiked 12.4% compared to the first five months of 2022, generating a combined $27.59 billion. Land-based casino gaming was down 0.6% but all other sectors showed growth.
Year-to-date gross gaming revenue per vertical showed the following after the first five months of 2023:
- Slot machine GGR: $14.80 billion – up 1.3%
- Table game GGR: $4.11 billion – up 1.9%
- Sports betting GGR: $4.58 billion – up 64.9%
- Online casino GGR: $2.48 billion – up 22.3%
Total GGR: $27.59 billion – up 12.4%
As you can see, sports betting has taken flight, up nearly 65% but that is partially due to more states jumping aboard the online sports betting gravy train with even more to come. Ohio went live on New Year’s Day, while Massachusetts launched retail sports betting on January 31st and mobile betting became available in the Bay State on March 10th.
Americans Believe in Gaming
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was overturned in 2018 and proved to be the spark that lit the flame for the white-hot gaming market we see in America. The Supreme Court got it right in citing it as unconstitutional and just another example of government overreach.
According to a survey, an overwhelming 85% of Americans agree with the SCOTUS’s decision according to the American Gaming Association.
“Five years post-PASPA, the AGA and our members continue to support responsibly expanding the legal market while cracking down on predatory illegal operators,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said via press release.
“The regulated industry and our partners across the entire ecosystem – policymakers, law enforcement, regulators, leagues, media, technology providers, and more – have made significant strides in our collaborative consumer education efforts since 2018, and we will find new ways to enhance consumer protections as the market matures.”
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