In March, the US casino was the best month of all time, winning $ 5.3 billion | Health

The American Gambling Association, the national trade group of the gambling industry, said Wednesday that U.S. commercial casinos won more than $ 5.3 billion from players in March, the best result in a month. The previous record month – July 2021 – $ 4.92 billion.

Collectively, the casinos also spent their best first quarter in history, giving away the $ 14.35 billion they won from gambling in the fourth quarter of last year, which was the highest three-month period in history.

Three states have set quarterly revenue records starting this year: Arkansas ($ 147.4 million); Florida ($ 182 million) and New York ($ 996.6 million).

These figures do not include tribal casinos that report their income separately and are expected to report similarly positive results.

But while the national casino economy is doing well, there are hotbeds of sluggishness such as Atlantic City, where revenues from personal casinos have not yet risen to the level of a pandemic.

“Consumers continue to look for game entertainment options in record numbers,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the association. He said the highs by early 2022 were “despite long-standing obstacles due to supply chain constraints, labor shortages and the impact of sharp inflation”.

The trading group also released its annual state report on Wednesday, which examines the results of gambling across the country.

As previously reported, casino revenue nationwide in 2021 was $ 53.03 billion, up 21% from the previous best year, 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

But the report includes new details, including the fact that commercial casinos paid a record $ 11.69 billion in direct taxes on gambling to state and local governments in 2021. This is an increase of 75% compared to 2020 and 15% compared to 2019. This does not include billions more in taxes paid on income, sales and other taxes, the association noted.

He also assessed the largest casino markets in the US in terms of revenue for 2021:

In first place is the Las Vegas Strip with $ 7.05 billion, followed by: Atlantic City ($ 2.57 billion); the Chicago area ($ 2.01 billion); Baltimore-Washington ($ 2 billion); the Gulf Coast ($ 1.61 billion); New York ($ 1.46 billion); Philadelphia ($ 1.40 billion); Detroit ($ 1.29 billion); St. Louis ($ 1.03 billion); and the Boulder Strip in Nevada ($ 967 million).

The association divides Pennsylvania Casinos into three separate markets: Philadelphia, Paconos and Pittsburgh. Their combined revenue of nearly $ 2.88 billion will make them the second largest market in the country when viewed as a single venture. He also considers the center of Las Vegas and its revenue of $ 731 million as a separate market.

Seven additional states have legalized sports betting and two more have added online gambling in 2021.

The group reported that many states have seen players spend more in casinos, visiting them in smaller numbers compared to the pre-pandemic 2019.

The average age of a casino patron last year was 43 1/2 compared to 49 1/2 in 2019.

Last year, Americans spent $ 57.7 billion on sports, more than twice as much as in 2020. This brought in profits of $ 4.33 billion, an increase of almost 180% compared to 2020.

Online gambling revenue reached $ 3.71 billion last year, and three states – New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan – won more than $ 1 billion online. The online gambling market in West Virginia reached $ 60.9 million in revenue for the first full year of operation, while two Connecticut online casinos reported total revenue of $ 47.6 million after launching in October.

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