Record revival figures for US gambling

The revival of the gambling industry in the US following the pandemic impact of 2020 is best underscored by the latest figures from the AGA.

The American Gaming Association said in its Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker that the third quarter of 2021 reached $13.89bn, the best quarter ever for the industry.

“This marks the second consecutive record-setting quarter for the commercial gaming sector and 2021 is on pace to be the highest-grossing ever for our industry. This is an impressive feat under any circumstance, let alone as we are emerging from the pandemic.”

Encouragingly, the recovery appears to be led by the bricks-and-mortar venues that saw record revenues with the steady return of travel and tourism plus the recovery of table game revenues that had lagged behind slots in recovery.

Bill Miller, president and CEO, paid tribute to the industry’s resilience and welcomed Hard Rock chairman Jim Allen (pictured) as the next chairman from January, who will succeed Trevor Croker of Aristocrat in the role.

Notably, the revenue figures compare well with 2019, before the pandemic, up 24.7 per cent, with slots up 15.2 per cent, table games up 10.2 per cent and sports betting GGR up 2,709.4 per cent. Igaming was up a huge 617.1 per cent. In 20198 the third quarter revenues were $938m.