The United States casinos won more money in the second quarter of this year and set new revenue records. They earned $14.81 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) from online gaming, sports gambling, table games, and commercial slot machines. This was 8.8 percent more than what they generated in the same period last year.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) constantly monitors the gaming industry by creating quarterly gaming revenue reports and representing it in Congress. The Q2 report highlighted the industry's performance between April 1 to June 30, 2022.
The $14.81 billion GGR that the casinos generated surpassed the all-time best quarter $14.31 billion GGR they generated in Q4 2021. But inflation has affected many industries in the country. Yet, casinos are still posting encouraging financial results despite the countrywide economic slowdown.
Bill Miller, AGA's CEO and President, stated that Q2 results showed a 16month period during which commercial gaming made significant gains. He added that the first half of this year's strength shows a steady rise in the demand for legal gaming options.
The gaming association's Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker reviews and compile gaming reports from all states that allow gambling. Yet, the $14.81 billion excludes the gaming revenue that tribal casinos generated.
Land-based casinos contributed the largest share of the gaming revenue. The local online gaming industry thrived in the first quarter of this year. Its performance increased slightly in the second quarter.
The U.S. Online Casinos' Latest Performance
Industries such as food service and hospitality that are near casinos are experiencing an acute labor shortage that has limited their operations. Business Insider released a report indicating that 70 percent of restaurant operators didn't have enough workers.
Globe St. discovered in its poll that 97 percent of hotel managers are struggling to hire new workers. The Revenue Tracker indicates that online poker and casino operators in six states generated $1.21 billion in gross revenue in the second quarter of this year. This is 34 percent more than what they earned in Q2 2021.
Online casinos should get discouraged by this quarter-over-quarter comparison. The AGA stated that the $2.42 billion revenue the casinos generated in the first half of this year was 43.5 percent more than the revenue they got in the first half of 2021.
Retail Casinos Also Performed Well
Some people fear that online casinos will soon make retail casino gaming obsolete. Yet, table games and physical slots in all commercial gaming properties generated $11.24 billion in revenue between April and July. This record was for the two segments.
It includes an 18 percent increase in table games' revenue. Slots generated nine percent more money in the first half of 2022, while table games earned casinos 29 percent more money than in H1 2021.
Retail and online sports gambling contributed to the $14.81 billion that casinos generated in Q2 2022. It was an over 3 percent increase compared to Q1's revenue. Also, 2022 is a promising year for the casino industry as more records might be set.
