AGA Reports Record-High 2017 Casino Revenues
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has posted some pretty exciting news. The annual review of the U.S. gaming industry has revealed promising results for the casino sector which grew $40.28 billion in 2017 alone. The growth was shared across states, with the majority of properties’ proceedings going up considerably.
U.S. Casinos Post Profit across the Country
The numbers were solid. Commercial casinos operating in 20 states out of 24 eligible ones posted solid profits and reported that their activities have been expanding. Overall, the industry registered 3.4{44b09f69e02b4a9880bf6e3f987d2afd285263f93639dabf176d3ae6ad2c79c6} year-on-year increase in its operations. Based on research by Oxford Economics, the U.S. casino industry has also been offering steady employment to over 700,000 people.
The favorable operating conditions have also driven better results translating into yet more job opportunities. With this in mind, the legalization of online gambling will also see the creation of more employment, as live iGaming studios and customer support lines will be needed to handle the influx of gamers that can be sheared off from the offshore gaming industry.
AGA Reports 11 Gaming Revenues in 2017
AGA’s report has been quite extensive and detailed. Estimated 11 states have posted record-high revenues in 2017, making it the most lucrative year for business on record. Tax revenue also grew to the respectable $9.23 billion, and these figures are only about to get better. The liberalization of the market has led to a strong interest in the gambling sector. Pennsylvania also managed to pass its comprehensive gambling bill and become the fourth legal state for online gambling. Individual states have been doing well, too, with Atlantic City posting revenues up by 15{44b09f69e02b4a9880bf6e3f987d2afd285263f93639dabf176d3ae6ad2c79c6}.
Meanwhile, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Louisiana all stepped up their efforts to liberalize the market so that any lingering restrictions may be tackled in one sweeping move. While traditional operators have been operating in the majority of states, tribal gaming is still present in 28 states, outstripping commercial casinos.
And by the looks of it, tribal gaming has also been doing quite well. It has been reported by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) that the revenues from the industry grew to $32.4 billion in 2017, notching up a 3.9{44b09f69e02b4a9880bf6e3f987d2afd285263f93639dabf176d3ae6ad2c79c6} increase year-on-year.
Respectable Growth and Promise for the Future
With the recent numbers, the industry is seeing an unprecedented growth. The bulk of the performance could be chalked up to the growing momentum of liberalizing the industry’s various segments and siblings. Sports betting got a notable boost in 2018 with the defeat of PASPA and poker players are being pooled. While we will not know how this has affected the industry at large until 2019, it is likely that the upward trend will continue.
One of the main focuses ahead of any legislators and businesses would be to bring home much of the revenue that is currently leaking to offshore operators. Thankfully, 5 new states are applying for online gambling bill in 2018 and the overall number of states where online gambling is allowed by 2020 is slated to hit 20.