Multiple industries around the world were undoubtedly impacted by the ongoing worldwide epidemic. Those in the hospitality industry, including the casino industry, were among the hardest hit.
The revenue of American casinos dropped to $30 billion in 2020, down 31.3% from the previous year. The American Gaming Association (AGA) reports that this is the industry’s lowest revenue year since 2003.
As a result, many professionals expected that the global gambling industry would not recover to its pre-pandemic levels and begin expanding again until at least 2023.
The AGA recently reported that commercial casinos in the United States generated $53 billion in revenue in 2020, the highest annual total in the industry’s history.
The 2019 total of $45 billion was previously the biggest on record, so the 2020 total of $53 billion is an increase of 21%. In spite of the health and safety measures they had to cope with and overcome, it demonstrates that gamblers continued to visit brick-and-mortar venues and play in-person despite the risks connected with contracting the unique COVI-19 virus.
Bill Miller, CEO and president of AGA, said of the findings, “These results are nothing short of remarkable.”
Miller attributed the unprecedented success of the sector in 2021 to the dedication shown by casinos across the United States to their customers’ health and safety, as he described in a recent webinar. It’s a byproduct of successfully addressing client requirements.
It should be noted that the 525 tribal casinos in the United States are not included in the AGA’s revenue figures. Bill Miller, however, asserts that the top executives of major Native American casino businesses have told him that 2021 was their most successful year ever.
However, while gambling revenues are increasing, the entertainment and travel industries have been slow to recover.
While online sports betting grows, online casinos and poker still hold their own.
The repeal of PASPA in 2018 allowed retail and sports wagering activity throughout the United States, not only in Nevada, as is well-known to anyone keeping tabs on the world of sports betting.
Therefore, sports betting expanded at the same breakneck pace as in previous years, increasing by 165% compared to 2020. This industry is expected to see significant growth in 2022 as a result of the recent legalization of mobile sports betting in New York and Louisiana.
The same should be true for online casinos in the United States, now that Connecticut has joined the fray (as of June 2021).
The Land of Steady Habits passed a law legalizing internet gambling last summer, making it the sixth US state to do so. It followed Michigan in entering the ranks of states in the United States that allow domestic companies to sell online slot machines.
In 2021, the online gambling and sports betting industries in the United States generated a combined $8 billion in revenue, or 15% of the total.
Annual records were set in more than two-thirds of the states that allow gambling.
Twenty-three of the thirty-four regulated jurisdictions that the American Gaming Association monitors reported record commercial gaming income in 2021. That staggering number encompasses no less than four new markets.
Revenue from gambling increased by 784% in Tennessee in 2021 compared to the previous year, the largest percentage gain of any state.
With a growth rate of 322% in 2021, Michigan ranked second, just ahead of New Mexico’s growth rate of 319%.
When considering the total revenue generated by the gambling industry, Nevada’s operators continue to reign supreme. In 2021, this activity brought in $13.4 billion for them.
Surprisingly, Pennsylvania outperformed New Jersey in terms of revenue generation last year, bringing in $4.8 billion compared to $4.7 billion in the Garden State. New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Louisiana are just some of the US states with totals over $2 billion.
One Last Thing
According to a report titled “Gambling: Global Market Trajectory & Analytics” published in June 2021 by Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the 2021 US numbers are merely a harbinger of things to come.
According to GIA’s projections, the size of the international gambling industry will increase from its current $826 billion in value in 2026, at an annualized pace of 3.6%.
The Asia-Pacific area is predicted to develop at the fastest rate, 4.4% yearly. This is primarily because to nations in the region relaxing their stances on offline and internet gambling.
Over $150 billion per year in revenue is expected from the casino industry around the world, with Asia-Pacific once again being the sector’s fastest-growing region. As a result, the gaming business didn’t only recover in 2021; it continued expanding at a rapid clip from the previous year.