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In August, American Gaming Association (AGA) CEO Bill Miller said commercial gaming was on pace for a record-breaking year. Well, it turns out Miller was right.
The AGA’s new Q3 report shows the US commercial gaming recorded $13.89 billion in gaming revenue, up from last quarter ($13.6 billion).
“Two straight quarters of record gaming revenue is an incredible accomplishment in any context, let alone after the most challenging year in industry history,” said Miller. “Our recovery is not a flash in the pan, but rather a sustained result of our leadership in responsible reopening, world-class entertainment offerings and widespread favorability.
Traditional gaming verticals helping gaming revenue boom
Combined, slots and table games set a new quarterly record of $12.05 billion, breaking its previous total by more than 10%.
- Slot GGR Q2 2021 – $8.70 billion
- Table Games GGR Q2 – $2.14 billion
Las Vegas also hit an all-time high of $2.06 billion, driven by the return of tourism. In August, Miller said COVID-19 was not in the rearview mirror yet but was confident a robust first half of the year would lead to the industry’s full recovery.
Sin City reported 9.2 million people visited the city, which is a 10% increase over Q2.
iGaming and sports betting’s contribution to US gaming growth
US gaming revenue was helped in part by iGaming, which contributed $938.6 million. On the other hand, legal sports betting recorded $886.5 million, a quarterly low. However, through the first nine months of 2021, iGaming and sports betting combined have totaled $5.36 billion, up more than 200 percent year-over-year. As a whole, this total gaming industry revenue has already surpassed 2020’s total for the year.
“With brick-and-mortar gaming setting records, the expansion into new verticals, and domestic and international tourism recovering, the industry is in a strong position for a full recovery,” said Miller. “I’m confident that the return of meetings, conventions and international travel will further accelerate gaming’s recovery in 2022.”
Year-to-date breakdown
Total sports betting revenue for 2021 sits at $2.74 billion. This number will undoubtedly go up as more states introduce sports betting into their respective gaming markets.
Most recently, Arizona and Louisiana were among the recent states that launched sports betting, while New York regulators released a list of operators that will run NY mobile sports betting.
Additionally, iGaming GGR sits comfortably at $2.62 billion.
