The American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker features state-by-state and nationwide financial performance data with breakdowns for individual gaming verticals.
August 2021 Commercial Gaming Revenue
The U.S. commercial gaming industry’s record-setting pace continued into August as casinos benefited from robust summer travel and a favorable calendar with two extra weekend days compared to 2019. Combined revenue from traditional casino gaming, sports betting, and iGaming reached $4.44 billion, up 19 percent from August 2019. August revenue was down 9.8 percent from July’s record of $4.92 billion due to declines in both traditional and sports betting revenue.
Overcoming a slow start to the year, August was the sixth consecutive month with more than $4.4 billion in commercial gaming revenue, making March through August the industry’s six highest-grossing gaming months ever. Through August, total 2021 commercial gaming revenue stands at $34.15 billion, surpassing the $29.98 billion generated in 2020 and 18 percent ahead of the same period in 2019.
Gaming revenue grew in 20 of 25 states compared to August 2019. Four states saw modest revenue declines—Kansas (-8.3%), Oklahoma (-4.7%), Rhode Island (-4.5%), and West Virginia (-5.0%)—while Louisiana dropped 28.2 percent as Hurricane Ida forced many of the state’s southeastern casinos to close toward the end of the month.
After the first eight months of 2021, 19 of 25 commercial gaming states are tracking ahead of 2019 gaming revenue levels.
Nationwide revenue from traditional casino games totaled $3.92 billion, up eight percent from August 2019, with slot revenue once again expanding at a faster rate (+14.1%) than table game revenue (+1.1%). At the state level, brick-and-mortar casino revenue is up from 2019 in 17 of 25 states.
In the first eight months of 2021, traditional casino games generated $29.48 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent from the same period in 2019. The growth comes even with traditional gaming revenue down 9.9 percent from July to August.
AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker provides state-by-state and nationwide insight into the U.S. commercial gaming industry’s financial performance. Monthly updates on AmericanGaming.org feature topline figures based on state revenue reports while quarterly reports provide a more detailed analysis covering the three previous months.
