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Nevada’s gaming industry saw its revenue improve by almost 7% in July 2023 compared to the same month last year. However, it wasn’t Las Vegas doing the heavy lifting this time.
Casinos in North Lake Tahoe and Sparks saw the greatest year-over-year bumps in win, more than making up for marginal downturns elsewhere in the state. At the same time, Clark County casinos did again provide the vast majority of the revenue for the month.
Nevada casinos rake in over $1.4 billion in July
According to a press release from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, July extended the state’s streak of gaming revenues topping $1 billion to 29 consecutive months. The total also represented a 6.6% improvement on July 2022’s sum and the highest total for July in Nevada in any year.
As a result, tax revenue for the state was up 5.9% for the month compared to the same month last year.
Furthermore, July’s revenue figure gets the 2023-24 fiscal year off to a strong start. Nevada gaming revenue in June finished off the previous term at a 3.2% uptick over FY21-22. Should casinos in Nevada maintain their momentum throughout the rest of the current term, they could be looking at their strongest year since FY18-19.
For reference, Nevada’s gaming revenue came to just over a billion in July 2019.
Casinos in Clark County accounted for about 86% of the statewide revenue total, representing a 7.5% year-over-year improvement of their own. However, gaming properties in segments of Washoe County experienced an even busier summer.
North Lake Tahoe, Sparks revenue up over 16%
Casinos in the North Lake Tahoe and Sparks regions reported revenue of more than $20.3 million combined, a 16.3% bump from their July 2022 combined total. Individually, Sparks experienced 20.3% revenue growth year-over-year while North Lake Tahoe saw its revenue increase 14.6%.
Fueling that growth in Sparks was high-end slot play. For example, slots with $5 plays brought in 63.4% more revenue in July of this year than they did in the same month in 2022. At the same time, North Lake Tahoe saw its revenue from sports betting win improve by 411.4% year-over-year.
Whether these regions can maintain that impressive growth is uncertain. Change is afoot in Lake Tahoe’s gaming scene, for sure. Golden Nugget is set to take over the current Hard Rock Lake Tahoe, following the demolition of the former Lakeside Inn and Casino.
Nevada casinos continue to drive the economy of the state and improve upon their previous returns. If FY23-24 continues on this trajectory, the industry will prove that even a global pandemic falls short of permanently taking it off course.
