AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker provides state-by-state and cumulative insight into the U.S. commercial gaming industry’s financial performance based on state revenue reports. This issue highlights results for Q1 2024.

Gaming Revenue Sets Record for the First Quarter
U.S. commercial gaming revenue growth continued to slow in the first quarter but still expanded by a healthy margin compared to Q1 2023.

Data compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA) from state regulatory disclosures shows that combined revenue from commercially operated land-based casinos, sports betting and iGaming increased by 5.6 percent year-over-year, reaching $17.67 billion for the quarter. Q1 was the 13th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and the highest-grossing quarter ever for the U.S. commercial gaming sector, edging out Q4 2023 ($17.64 billion).

March was particularly noteworthy, with the industry recording its second-highest revenue month ever at $6.09 billion, a 1.8 percent increase compared to the previous year. December 2023 remains the highest-grossing month at $6.35 billion.

Online Gaming Marks Quarterly Records
The U.S. commercial gaming industry realized year-over-year growth across both land-based and online gaming in Q1, though at slower rates than in the recent past.

Quarterly revenue from land-based gaming – including casino slots, table games and retail sports betting – totaled $12.49 billion, 0.1 percent higher than Q1 2023. The rate of growth for land-based gaming was significantly slower than 3.4 percent in Q4 2023.

Meanwhile, online gaming – comprising iGaming and online sports betting – saw a deceleration in annual revenue gains from 39.6 percent in Q4 to 19.3 percent in Q1. Nevertheless, the combined revenue from online sports betting and iGaming reached a new quarterly high of $5.16 billion. Online gaming made up a record (29.3%) share of commercial gaming revenue in Q1.

During the first quarter, the industry welcomed two new online sports betting markets in Vermont on January 11 and North Carolina on March 11.

$3.8 Billion in Gaming Taxes Bolster State and Local Governments
State and local governments in gaming states saw a record influx of direct gaming taxes in the first quarter. Commercial gaming operators paid an estimated $3.80 billion in taxes tied directly to gaming revenue, an increase of 4.4 percent year-over-year.

Note that these gaming tax figures only cover specific state and local taxes directly linked to gaming revenue that are reported monthly or quarterly. Fees that are levied on an annual basis are not covered, nor are sports betting excise tax payments to the federal government. The figures also do not encompass the billions of additional tax dollars paid by the industry on income, sales, payroll or various corporate taxes.

Eleven Gaming States See Best-Ever Quarters
Of the 33 operational commercial gaming jurisdictions that had complete data available through March, 23 witnessed an increase in first quarter revenue compared to 2023. Notably, eleven states achieved new revenue records for a single quarter, including two of the nation’s largest commercial gaming markets: Pennsylvania and New York.

Among the markets experiencing year-over-year declines in quarterly revenue, sports betting-only markets such as Washington, D.C. (-9.5%), New Hampshire (-10.3%) and Montana (-34.9%) generally saw the most significant drops. In contrast, more diversified and traditional gaming markets like Iowa (-2.0%), Mississippi (-2.1%), Indiana (-2.1%), Rhode Island (-3.3%), Missouri (-4.0%) and New Mexico (-4.1%) reported smaller decreases in revenue.

Ohio represented a notable exception where revenue contracted by 16.0 percent due to a sharp 37.1 percent drop in sports betting spend. Ohio faced tough comparisons in Q1 compared to the previous year when sports betting launched and revenue totals benefited from significant promotion spending in the new market.

Traditional Gaming Ends Q1 on a High Note, Setting Monthly Revenue Record in March
Traditional brick-and-mortar casino gaming maintained quarterly revenue growth in Q1. Slot machines and table games collectively generating $12.34 billion—a modest increase of 0.3 percent year-over-year that could have been stronger if not for a sluggish January impacted by severe weather in regional gaming markets nationwide.

In March, casino slot machines and table games generated an all-time monthly revenue record of $4.46 billion, a 2.7 percent year-over-year increase and surpassing the previous high of $4.40 billion set in July 2023.

The overall growth in traditional casino gaming was driven by an increase in table revenue that offset a slight decline in slot machine revenue. Nationwide, casino slot machines generated $8.86 billion in Q1, down 0.1 percent from the previous year, while table games realized $2.58 billion, a 3.0 percent year-over-year increase. The separate slot and table game figures do not include data from Louisiana and Michigan, where traditional casino gaming data is reported in aggregate rather than as separate verticals.

At the state level, 15 out of 27 states saw traditional casino gaming revenue contract by as much as 6.1 percent year-over-year. Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia were among the 12 states that experienced annual growth, collectively opening seven new casinos since the beginning of Q1 2023 that contributed significantly to their overall growth in traditional casino gaming revenue.

Notably, 12 of the 15 quarterly decliners concluded Q1 with positive momentum and year-over-year gains in March, emphasizing the impact of a weak January. Only two states – Indiana and New Mexico – saw traditional casino gaming revenue decline on an annual basis in each of the three months.

For Indiana, the 6.1 percent decline in quarterly revenue was primarily driven by an 8.3 percent contraction in casinos located in the Chicagoland market where four Indiana properties continued to feel the impact of increased competition with two additional casinos operating across the Illinois border compared to the start of Q1 2023. Competitive pressure is expected to increase further for casinos in northwestern Indiana, as another Chicago-area casino, located in the city’s southern suburbs, is scheduled to open in mid-2024.

Sports Betting Begins Year at Record Pace
Despite a challenging quarter for sportsbooks, where favorites prevailed in major events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness and the Masters, Q1 sports wagering revenue soared to $3.33 billion, a 22.0 percent annual increase and a new record for first-quarter sports betting revenue.

The busy sports calendar, coupled with Vermont and North Carolina joining as the 33rd and 34th jurisdictions to offer commercial sports betting, contributed to a robust commercial sports betting handle of $36.86 billion in the first quarter, a 23.3 percent year-over-year increase.

North Carolina’s online-only commercial sports betting market made a strong debut, generating revenue of $66.5 million in its first partial month of operations, ranking third in the country in March.

Note that data for March sports betting in Arizona, Illinois and Kentucky had not been released at the time of publication.

iGaming Continues To Accelerate, Rhode Island Launches
iGaming continued its impressive growth, generating $1.98 billion in revenue for the first quarter – up 26.1 percent compared to Q1 2023 and a new single-quarter record.

Each of the six established iGaming states set quarterly revenue records, with year-over-year revenue growth ranging from 22.0 percent in New Jersey to more than tripling in Delaware, where the Delaware Lottery’s new iGaming partner – Rush Street Interactive – helped expand revenue by 218.5 percent year-over-year to $11.9 million in its first full quarter of operations.

Q1 also marked the launch of the country’s seventh full iGaming market, as Rhode Island went live in March. In its first partial month of operations, the state’s sole online casino generated $1.2 million in revenue.

About the Report
AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker provides state-by-state and nationwide insight into the U.S. commercial gaming industry’s financial performance. Monthly updates on AmericanGaming.org feature topline figures based on state revenue reports while quarterly reports provide a more detailed analysis covering the three previous months.