The American Gaming Association (AGA) has released its annual State of the States report. It stated that the Covid-19 pandemic had a “major impact on the gaming industry in 2020.”
Consumer spending on commercial gaming fell 31% from 2019 to $29.98 billion last year. This marked the industry’s lowest total annual revenue since 2003.
The Baltimore-Washington, D.C. gaming market surpassed Chicagoland as the third-largest in the United States. It now only lags behind the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City, according to the report.
Other information from the State of the States 2021 report includes all 25 states with physical commercial casino gaming reporting lower revenues than in 2019.
Revenue from commercial gaming in the United States increased by 11% in the first two months of 2020. But revenue fell significantly for the remaining ten months of the year due to mandatory closures and capacity restrictions.
Due to these closures, commercial casinos in the U.S. lost more than 45,600 business days in 2020.
Sports betting, however, has seen significant growth. Americans legally wagered $21.5 billion on sports in 2019, up from $13 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, revenue from legal sports betting increased by 69 percent to $1.5 billion.
“In 2020, the gaming industry faced enormous challenges. We also saw major changes, as player demographics changed and emerging verticals experienced strong growth,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller.
“This year’s report reflects both the highs and lows of the past year, from sharp revenue declines to booming legal sports betting activity and enormous voter enthusiasm for gaming.
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