Gaming revenue grew most in Oregon and New York last year—here's how it breaks down across the rest of the US
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Gambling in the United States brought in a record $60.4 billion in revenue in 2022, according to the American Gaming Association. The vast majority of that year's revenue was from in-person gambling, but online betting accounted for about a fifth of that. Just a few states across the U.S. saw the most gaming revenue growth.
Commercial gaming encompasses traditional gaming, sports betting, and gaming in online casinos. Eighty-four million American adults visited a casino in 2020, according to the AGA, with the revenue from table games up 13.9% and from slot machines up 5.1%. New markets in Kansas drove sports betting revenue there as the state began offering retail and mobile sports betting. Louisiana, Maryland, and New York also started mobile sports wagering.
The 2022 revenue marks the first $60 billion year for commercial gaming, up from $53 billion the year before, according to the association's figures. Through January 2023, the U.S. generated over $5 billion in commercial gaming revenue in each of the prior five months.
Twenty-five of the 28 states on the list increased gambling revenue from 2021 to 2022. New York brought in $909 million in revenue in its first year of legalized sports betting sites. Oregon has tried to expand wagering into college sports but has yet to be successful. New Hampshire has traditionally drawn wagers from neighboring Massachusetts, which, as of 2023, is allowing online and mobile sports wagering.
Areas that did not fare well were Washington D.C., which lost gamblers to Maryland and Virginia; Mississippi, which does not allow mobile sports betting; and South Dakota, where gaming is limited.
AskGamblers ranked 27 states and Washington D.C. based on commercial gaming revenue growth or decline between 2021 and 2022 using data from the American Gaming Association. Revenue data covers casino games, sports betting, and iGaming. States that did not legalize gambling until 2021 or later were excluded from this ranking.
