US gaming revenue grows 2.4% in November; yearly record already broken at $53B with one month to go

US commercial gaming revenue grew by 2.4% year-over-year in November, marking the 21st successive month of comparative growth. According to revenue data reported by state regulators and compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA), the nationwide gaming industry win from traditional casino games, sports betting and iGaming reached $5.02 billion in the month.

Through the first 11 months of 2022, commercial gaming revenue stood at $54.93 billion, 13.5% ahead of the same period in 2021. The US gambling industry has already surpassed the annual record of $53.04 billion in 2021 with one month of gaming revenue left to report.

The figures were unveiled Thursday, as part of AGA's Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. The monthly report features state-by-state and nationwide financial performance data with breakdowns for individual gaming verticals, in this case for November 2022’s gaming revenue.

Trailing 12-month (TTM) revenue was $59.58 billion for the period covering December 2021 through November 2022. Sequentially, TTM revenue inched up 0.2% compared to the preceding TTM period stretching from November 2021 to October 2022. The near-flat TTM trend is unsurprising considering the commercial gaming industry has been back to operating at full capacity without pandemic restrictions for more than a year. 

At the state level, 21 of 33 commercial gaming jurisdictions that were operational one year ago posted year-over-year revenue growth in November. Notable among the declines was Nevada, where monthly gaming revenue dipped 7.6%, driving the slowdown in nationwide revenue overall.

Nevada revenue decreased even as Las Vegas visitation increased 4.9% year-over-year, supported by a variety of events and a 45.4% jump in convention attendance, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Through the first eleven months of 2022, nearly all commercial gaming states were tracking ahead of the same period in 2021, the exception being the D.C. sports betting market (-14.7%), Mississippi (-3.7%), and South Dakota (-1.0%). Increasingly difficult year-over-year comparisons were felt heavily in Mississippi and South Dakota, which had previously benefited from the relaxation of operating restrictions earlier than most other states.

In November, combined revenue from slot machines and table games at casinos was $3.82 billion, down 0.4% year-over-year. Slot revenue was up 1.9% to $2.76 billion, while table game revenue dipped 7.2% to $771.9 million.

The decrease in table win was primarily driven by a contraction in Nevada table gaming activity, especially on the Las Vegas Strip where the amount wagered on table games dropped 21.2% year-over-year and table win contracted 23.6%.

Statewide, revenue generated from the most popular table games in Nevada, Blackjack, and Baccarat, declined by 23.1% and 37.7% respectively, while drop volumes for these games decreased by 18.0% and 31.3%.

Through November, U.S. casino slot machines and table games have generated revenue of $43.79 billion, tracking 6.7% ahead of the same eleven-month period of 2021, reports AGA.

November sports betting activity benefited from a busy sports calendar and Maryland became the 23rd jurisdiction to offer mobile sports betting, resulting in a 27% increase in betting activity nationwide. Americans wagered $9.40 billion on sports throughout the month – an all-time high without including Arizona, which had not reported November numbers at the time of publication. Legal commercial sports betting was available across 27 commercial sports betting jurisdictions in November, compared with 25 a year earlier.

With sportsbook hold dropping to 7.9% from 9.8% a year earlier, betting revenue only increased 2.6% to $743.8 million. Year-to-date commercial sports betting revenue reached $6.56 billion, tracking 65.4% ahead of the same period last year with Americans having wagered $83.13 billion through the end of November.

Meanwhile, iGaming operations in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia reported a revenue record of $458.4 million, up 33% in the same month in 2021. Year-to-date iGaming revenue stands at $4.54 billion, tracking 36.3% ahead of the same period in 2021.

­­­­­­­­Taken together, revenue from iGaming and sports betting accounted for 23.9% of combined commercial gaming revenue in November, down from 24.5% in October, while it sits at 20.2% for the year.

At the state level, commercial gaming revenue dispersion across verticals varies considerably. In the four states where all three verticals are legally available (including online sports betting) – Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – the combined share of sports betting and iGaming range between 20.7% in West Virginia to 61% in Michigan.