US spend on gambling grows to $147B in 2021, led by land-based casinos

U.S. consumers spent $147 billion on gambling activities in 2021, well above 2019 and 2020 levels, according to a report published Friday by independent research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.

Titled "Total U.S. Gambling Spend by Category - 2021", the new annual report provides a view of the U.S. gambling market in terms of B2C revenue generated by market category, considering revenue as the total wagers less payouts. The individual market segments included in the report are: Casino Gaming, Lottery, Charitable Gaming, Sports betting, Racing, and Charitable Gaming. The report also further segments the data between retail and online for each category.

Retail commercial casinos came on top of the spending at 31%, followed by retail tribal casinos (27%) and retail lottery (25%). Combining retail and online, casinos led the ranking with 62%, followed by lottery (25%). 

US consumers spent $147 billion on Gambling Activities in 2021. See report link below:https://t.co/Wu92crl3Dk pic.twitter.com/EGaSGf7SQU

— Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC (@EilersKrejcik) April 4, 2022

Combined online gambling revenue represented 7% of the total market, vs. 5% the prior year, according to the report. In terms of market growth rates comparison, online sports betting showed the highest numbers, followed by online casino and poker.

Eilers & Krejcik Gaming uses publicly reported figures by various federal, state and provincial gaming agencies along with third party reports and the company's own proprietary estimates. The firm also makes certain adjustments to data to standardize reporting across each category.