Commercial casinos in the United States obtained revenues of $ 9 billion during the third quarter of 2020, a part of this money was used to finance educational programs and other state and local governments, according to published figures from the American Gaming Association (AGA) Recently.
This amply demonstrates the importance of the commercial casino industry in the country’s economy, which has been affected by pandemic closures and some government constraints that threaten the future of gambling.
Despite these eloquent figures from the AGA for this year, they are still 18.9% below the results of 2019. The most prominent activity was that of slot machines that generated $ 5.87 billion, a far cry of board games that collectively received $ 1.57 billion.
The third trimester took a leap
Only commercial casinos and gaming facilities are included in these overall results, 442 of which were open in the quarter. The gaming venues operated on a limited basis with a maximum of between 15 and 50% of their total capacity, depending on the health policy measures adopted locally.
On the other hand, online gambling reached $ 435 million, but this figure is expected to increase substantially in the fourth quarter of the year.
Overall, this year’s third quarter results show an incredible 294% increase over the second quarter, when activity fell to lows due to the coronavirus outbreak.
However, this increase did not compensate for the decline that casinos continue to experience. During the first three quarters of the year, activity fell by 36.5%. This figure is likely to tend to drop slightly as some states have updated and relaxed measures against the virus in this second wave of covid-19.
Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Jersey the most prominent
In terms of gaming revenue in the states, Nevada remains in first place. The state’s casinos as a whole reported in the second quarter gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $ 576.3 million. This figure represented only 20% of what was collected in the same period of 2019.
But during the third quarter of the year, revenue soared to $ 2.3 billion. Although in real terms it represents a decrease of 23.5% compared to 2019, it is an indicator that the state maintains its potential and value as the most important gaming market in the United States.
Then comes Pennsylvania, which during the last productive quarter showed encouraging figures. The state reported a GGR of $ 893.1 million, just 3.8% lower than the revenue obtained in the third quarter of last year. The results were largely boosted by online gambling.
Another state that benefited from online gambling was New Jersey, which was able to hold its own during the pandemic because of the various online and mobile gambling options it offers. For the third quarter, the state’s revenue was $ 914 million, a 7.7% lower figure compared to 2019.
Sports betting breaks record
The rest of the states that offer some gambling activity reported decreases of between 2.3% and 25%. Among those most affected was Louisiana, whose gaming sector was hit hard by the pandemic and the prevailing bad weather that forced the order to close the casinos.
But there is one area of the US gaming industry that continues to stand out from the rest. It’s about sports bets that increased their gross to $ 5.95 billion during the third quarter, a record high for a single quarter.