Commercial gaming sales break record in U.S
According to the American Gaming Association's Commercial Gaming Earnings Tracker, national commercial gaming revenue hit a new quarterly high of $13.89 billion in the third quarter of 2021. This high marks the second consecutive quarter of U.S. commercial gaming performance.
The industry posted $38.67 billion in revenue in the first nine months of this year, already beating the revenue generated in 2020 and on pace to break the annual record of $43.65 billion set in 2019.
Bill Miller, AGA chairman and CEO, said, "Recordable gaming sales for the second quarter in a row are an incredible achievement in any context, not to mention after one of the most challenging years in the industry's history. "Our recovery is not a temporary phenomenon, but an ongoing result of leadership on responsible reopening, world-class entertainment services and broad favorability.
Traditional games continue to drive industry performance, setting a quarterly revenue record of $12.05 billion for slot games and table games combined. Table game sales, which were sluggish in the last quarter, beat quarterly sales records by more than 10% in the third quarter of 2021.
Ten of the 25 states with commercial casinos achieved quarterly revenue records, including the four highest-grossing commercial gaming states of 2019 (Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania).
In Las Vegas Streep, gaming revenue also hit an all-time high of $2.06 billion. The record was partly driven by a steady return of tourists. 9.2 million people visited Las Vegas in the third quarter of 2021, up nearly 10% from the second quarter of 2021 and the highest quarterly visit level since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Commercial gaming revenue for the third quarter of 2021 increased on the back of record iGaming revenue of $938.6 million. Meanwhile, sports betting revenue hit a 2021 quarter low of $886.5 million due to a limited late-summer sports calendar. The combined amount of sports betting and iGaming revenue in the first nine months of this year was $5.36 billion, up more than 200% year-on-year.
"With bricks and offline game-setting records, new vertical expansion, and a recovery in domestic and international tourism, the industry is in a strong position for a full recovery," Miller continued. "We are confident that the return of conferences, conventions and international travel will further accelerate the game's recovery in 2022."