In March, US Casinos Raked in a Record Sum

$5.3B was the highest single-month total ever, American Gaming Association says
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 11, 2022 5:40 PM CDT
US Casinos Had Their Best Month Ever in March
Gamblers play slot machines at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, Feb. 10, 2022.   (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Inflation may be soaring, supply chains remain snarled, and the coronavirus just won't go away, but America's casinos are humming right along, recording the best month in their history in March. The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry's national trade group, said Wednesday that US commercial casinos won more than $5.3 billion from gamblers in March, the best single-month total ever. The previous record month was July 2021 at $4.92 billion. The casinos collectively also had their best first quarter ever, falling just short of the $14.35 billion they won from gamblers in the fourth quarter of last year, which was the highest three-month period in history, the AP reports.

Three states set quarterly revenue records to start this year: Arkansas ($147.4 million), Florida ($182 million), and New York ($996.6 million). The numbers do not include tribal casinos, which report their income separately and are expected to report similarly positive results. But while the national casino economy is doing well, there are pockets of sluggishness, such as Atlantic City, where in-person casino revenue has not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

The trade group also released its annual State of the States report on Wednesday, examining gambling's performance across the country. Nationwide casino revenue set an all-time high in 2021 at $53.03 billion, up 21% from the previous best year, 2019. The group said commercial casinos paid a record $11.69 billion in direct gambling tax revenue to state and local governments in 2021—an increase of 15% from 2019. Seven additional states legalized sports betting, and two more added internet gambling in 2021. Americans bet $57.7 billion on sports last year, more than twice the amount from 2020. That generated $4.33 billion in revenue, an increase of nearly 180% over 2020.

(More casinos stories.)

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