Commercial gaming revenue in the US declined by 14.8% month-on-month in November 2020, the American Gaming Association (AGA) has revealed.
Prior to October, casinos in America had reported a rise in revenue for six consecutive months following restrictions that were introduced early in 2020.
Casinos across the US were subjected to continued COVID-19 restrictions, with some later having to close their doors again to stop the spread of the virus.
Significant year-on-year drops too
In total, casinos across the US generated $2.92 billion throughout the month of November. This was much lower — 84.1% lower, in fact — than had been the case in November 2019.
A number of factors were considered to have played a role in casinos’ drop in revenue. Besides rising coronavirus cases nationwide, players were also more cautious about their spending. There were also fewer weekends this November, compared to other calendar years.
Online verticals grow
Despite the struggles of land-based casinos, online betting in the US continued to show signs of growth. Sports betting generated $266.3 million in gross gaming revenue, which was 144.7% higher than had been the case in the same month in 2019. In this vertical, players also bet $1.21 billion. This was 51.8% higher than had been the case in November 2019.
Online casino gaming also profited from land-based venues’ continued struggles. Revenue in this respect was $154.2 million, representing a 160.7% annual increase.
Players also wagered beyond the billion-dollar mark for online casino games. Handle in this respect came out to $1.38 billion, which was over double the amount in the previous year.
Not every state suffered
Despite the overall decline in land-based casino gaming revenue, many US states actually enjoyed an upturn. Colorado enjoyed a year-on-year growth that was mainly due to $18.4 million coming in for sports betting operators.
However, sports betting wasn’t the only revenue driver. Delaware enjoyed 10.4% annual growth mainly from slots games, while Mississippi was up by 6.6% year-on-year.
South Dakota also saw a 16.5% revenue increase and is the only US state to have grown every month for the six months up to November.
Sports betting performing well in most states
Sports betting handle across the US grew by 54% year-on-year up to November 2020. Operators have generated $1.21 billion between them, which was 51.8% higher than in the first 11 months of 2019. 2020 was also the first year that sports betting in the US surpassed $1 billion in revenue for online and offline wagering revenue.
11 jurisdictions reported record monthly revenue figures. These were: Colorado, Arkansas, Delaware, Washington DC, Nevada, New Hampshire, Montana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Oregon, and West Virginia.
