US Commercial Gaming Hits Q2 Sets Revenue Record

It was quite a quarter for our best sports betting sites and the US commercial gaming industry.

A press release from the American Gaming Association (AGA) has revealed that US commercial gaming revenue reached an all-time high for the second quarter of 2024. Compared with Q2 last year, revenue was up 8.9% to $17.63 billion for the industry’s 14th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.

Both land-based and online gaming sectors reported revenue increases compared to the same period last year. Brick-and-mortar casinos generated $12.49 billion in revenue, accounting for 71.4% of total revenue and reflecting a 1.8% year-on-year increase. Sports betting saw $3.16 billion in revenue in Q2, up 35.3% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, iGaming generated a record-breaking $1.97 billion, up 25.2%. Overall, Q2 commercial gaming revenue resulted in $3.73 billion in state taxes, up 4% from last year.

New launches drive record growth

The record-breaking quarter for iGaming is partly attributed to adding a seventh state with legal online casinos. In March 2024, Rhode Island officially launched its iGaming market, with Bally’s as the sole operator. Bally’s reported a 94.7% increase in revenue from its North America Interactive segment for Q2, while the Rhode Island Lottery reported $2.3 million in revenue in June 2024, setting a record for the fourth consecutive month.

Similarly, the year-on-year surge in legal sports betting revenue in Q2 2024 was fueled by the introduction of new markets across the states. The past year has seen several states launch legal sports betting, including the Kentucky sports betting and Maine sports betting markets last fall, Vermont sports betting in January 2024, and North Carolina sports betting in March.

“While sports betting and iGaming continued to drive overall industry revenue growth in the second quarter, new brick-and-mortar property openings in Illinois, Nebraska, and Virginia also led to rising traditional commercial gaming revenue,” said AGA Vice President of Research David Forman. 

“Across the country, land-based gaming markets are seeing mixed year-over-year comparisons due to slower consumer spending economy-wide, which may continue to be a factor through the remainder of 2024.”

State-by-state breakdown

Among the 33 jurisdictions with full data up to June, 24 saw revenue rise compared to Q2 last year. However, the DC sports betting saw the highest annual change, with revenue up 178.7% to $10.9 million. Nevada continued to dominate the industry, reporting the highest Q2 revenue at $3.8 billion, followed by Pennsylvania with $1.6 billion and New Jersey in third place after generating $1.5 billion.

Several states reported declines, with Oklahoma revenue reporting the most significant drop of 8.2% year-on-year. Other states that reported decreases include New Hampshire (-5.3%), New Mexico (-4.6%), and Mississippi (-2.3%).

About the AGA

Founded in 1994, the AGA represents the American gambling industry at the legislative and federal levels. It provides essential data, informs the public on industry issues, and more. The AGA’s Commerical Gaming Revenue Tracker provides a detailed state-by-state and overall analysis of the industry’s financial performance based on state revenue reports.