US gaming revenues last year hit lowest point since 2003

The national gaming industry’s revenues fell 31 percent to $30 billion in 2020, according to a Wednesday report from the American Gaming Association, the national trade group representing the $261 billion U.S. casino industry. It was the first time since 2014 that revenues contracted.

“COVID-19 devastated our business and the employees and communities across the country that rely on casino gaming’s success,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in the report. “These numbers show the economic realities of COVID-19 and underscore the importance of targeted federal relief and ramped-up vaccine distribution to accelerate gaming’s recovery in 2021.”

Road to recovery

The recent slump in U.S. gaming revenue overshadows those seen during other economic crises. Revenue during the Great Recession fell 8.4 percent from 2007 to 2009 — less than a third of the drop seen in 2020.

Much of last year’s decline can be attributed to the monthslong casino shutdowns meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. Commercial casinos lost 27 percent of their operating days — the sum of the number of open days per casino — in 2020. While most have regained the ability to turn on their lights, 37 U.S. commercial casinos remained closed at the end of the year.

Those that did reopen faced various challenges, including low foot traffic and operating restrictions. Casinos in Nevada had been operating at 25 percent capacity and only just moved to 35 percent on Monday.

Amid the shutdowns and operating restrictions, gamblers across the country turned to online sports betting and gambling. Sports betting gross gaming revenue was up 69 percent to $1.5 billion in 2020 compared with 2019, and iGaming was up 199 percent to $1.6 billion.

Part of that growth can be attributed to more Americans gaining access to this form of betting: seven jurisdictions launched legal sports betting markets in 2020 and one state — West Virginia — launched a new iGaming market.

But growth in online verticals failed to make up for the total gaming revenue lost in slots and table games, which fell 34 percent to $18.9 billion and 39 percent to $5.1 billion in 2020, respectively.

“Hospitality and travel have been among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic,” Miller said. “I am encouraged by recent bipartisan momentum on Capitol Hill to support these industries, which are crucial to our nation’s full economic recovery.”

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.