The fact that sports betting is legal in more than 30 states at the moment is great news for the industry. Saying that, we are hoping for all of them to come to their senses soon enough and open it all up for people of all ages to enjoy casino action at its finest.
Clearly, Sports betting is miles ahead of iGaming, which is only permitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 US States. Just to clarify, by iGaming I’m referring to internet gambling with interactive slots and table games.
They Are Next
Rhode Island will become the 7th state with legal online slots and table games. They are planning to go live on April 1st, 2024. Bally’s will be the sole operator in Rhode Island (along with 3rd party partner Stakelogic).
Who Are The ‘Woke’ 6?
I really don’t enjoy using the word ‘woke’ but it’s actually pretty fitting in this regard, don’t you agree? The ones that have their act together already are New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia and Delaware. Basically we are talking about the Philly Tri-State area plus Michigan.
Is the fact that they are located where they are just a coincidence or what’s going on here? What is the rest of the country waiting for?
The good news is that these half-dozen legal jurisdictions continue to experience revenue growth for their online platforms.
Reports Are Backing Up the Predictions
Even though the pandemic is in the rearview and the land based casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City are as popular as ever, the revenue reports show the industry continues to enjoy substantial growth.
The CDC Gaming Reports shows that the 6 iGaming markets mentioned above, combined for $482.6 million in July this year. To give you a better indication of what those numbers mean, it is a 20% boost compared to July, 2022.
Also, the above mentioned revenue does not include either online sports betting nor lottery games.
Let’s Talk Numbers
1) New Jersey
The one generating the most revenue online is New Jersey. July showed a total of $155.2 million in online casino revenue, which was a 12% increase from the previous year.
New Jersey gave the green light to iGaming all the way back in 2013. This year is still the fastest they have surpassed the $1 billion mark since then and it has only taken them 7 months to do so.
New Jersey collected $23.2 million in online-gambling taxes in July 2023, an 11.6% jump over July 2022’s $20.5 million.
2) Michigan
Not far behind New Jersey was Michigan at $153.6 million. Compared to the same time last year, it’s an increase of 18%. Michigan has allowed iGaming since 2019.
Michigan’s 15 online-casino operators paid $28.7 million in igaming taxes, with Detroit’s 3 commercial casinos paying $7.2 million to the city and the Native casinos ponying up $3.5 million to their tribes.
3) Pennsylvania
Second runner up for the month of July was Pennsylvania. The Keystone state reported a 24% increase on a year-to-year basis with $129.9 million.
Total revenue from online slots accounted for $94.8 million, a 32% increase over July 2022’s $71.9 million. Table games won $35.4 million, a major 48% surge over last year’s $23.9 million. Online poker’s $2.6 million was a 7.1% drop from last year’s $2.8 million.
4) Connecticut
Falling behind but still showing positive numbers is Connecticut with a lower $28.2 million in iGaming revenue. Keep in mind that Connecticut’s iGaming market is relatively new, as the state’s two gaming tribes commenced their online operations as late as in the fall of 2021.
Connecticut collected $5.1 million in iGaming taxes for the month.
5) West Virginia
With a total of $14.4 million, West Virginia secured the 5th spot. After having legalized it in March, 2019, they didn’t get started until July 2020.
6) Delaware
Delaware was actually the first state to legalize online casino gambling in the US in August of 2013. A July total of just $1.2 million meant that it was the only jurisdiction to see a year-to-year GGR decline (-8.3%).
Online slots once again accounted for the lion’s share of income at $915,639, down 9.2% year over year, while table games generated $221,187, an unusually large increase of nearly 25% compared to July 2022. Online poker earned $44,861, up 2.2%.
iGaming Margins Are Better
In terms of margins, iGaming has it much better than the ones dealing in sports betting. Just to give you an idea what I mean by that, take a look at these numbers.
Even though 30+ states allow sports betting, players wagered as much as $93.8 billion last year. This resulted in a total net income of $6.4 billion.
Compare that to iGaming that, if you remember, is only allowed in 6 states, and had a new income of $5 billion. Now that’s quite a difference in margins, right?
The US Gaming Industry Has Never Been Stronger
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is obviously happy with the situation. Bill Miller is the President as well as the CEO and recently gave the following statement:
“After two full years of successive growth post-COVID, the US gaming industry has never been stronger. With records across every gaming vertical, from brick-and-mortar casinos to mobile gaming, American adults continue to choose gaming as one of their top entertainment options.”
I think it’s fair to say that we all agree.
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