Recently, the American Gaming Association (AGA) held a webinar to discuss the gaming industry’s financial results through 2024. The analysis included gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $71.9 billion, which equates to a 7.5% increase per year.
In fact, the continued growth was celebrated by the AGA. President and CEO Bill Miller (photo) also made a point of stating that this success in the gaming market makes the US a “target” for illegal operations in the sector.
According to Miller, operators in industries like casinos and offshore sports betting “exploit consumer confusion” and “threaten to undermine the public trust” that gambling has built with U.S. residents over the years.
American Gaming Association invested heavily in responsible gaming initiatives
To counteract these concerns, Miller estimated that the AGA will invest €453.3 million in responsible gaming initiatives throughout 2024.
The president and CEO of AGA also spoke about the new political administration. Miller is “optimistic” about finding ways to work with the current team of officials in President Donald Trump’s administration.
He referred to federal aid provided by Trump during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this way, the assistance represented a “testimony to the positive role of gaming” in the US economy.
According to Miller, many political leaders are still “unaware of the risks” that come with illegal gambling operations. In light of this, the AGA is constantly working with regulators to inform management. This includes a “narrowly divided Congress” over the harm that can be caused by illegality in the sector.
The AGA also highlighted the “resilience” demonstrated by many areas where gaming is most popular in the US. It included, for example, the Las Vegas Strip, which saw reductions in revenue from the year-ago period. However, it maintained its position as the top market by trading revenue.
Land-based casinos were the main revenue generators of the US gaming sector
Numbers released by David Forman, VP of Research at AGA, when asked about the expected revenue generated by tribal gaming throughout 2024:
- When accounting for tribal contributions, total GGR during 2024 would increase to almost €110.4 billion.
- The figure would represent more than €38.4 billion in tribal gaming revenue, including an estimated €15.4 billion in online gaming tax revenue.
Forman also spoke about the Las Vegas area’s declining revenue. Despite this, he highlighted how Reno/Sparks, Downtown Las Vegas and other regions of Nevada managed to see increases despite declining revenue in their most popular area.
One notable concern brought up by Miller was the lack of significant growth in land-based casinos. According to him, around 30% of the total GGR reported during 2024 was generated through iGaming.
According to Miller, some in the industry fear a “cannibalization” effect will occur. Thus, many states have not yet legalized iGaming due to the “appreciation” it has for traditional land-based establishments.
In closing, Miller makes it clear that although several states have found ways to legalize some form of sports betting, since PASPA was repealed a few years ago, only a few allow iGaming offerings for residents.
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