US Casinos Have Best Month In History With $5.3 Billion Take

In yet another sign that the pandemic is over (despite world leaders insisting it’s not), American casinos had their best month in history in March, with a $5.3 billion take. The numbers do not include tribal casinos which report income separately.

According to the American Gaming Association, March was the best month ever for US commercial casinos, beating the previous record of $4.92 billion set in July 2021.

Meanwhile, casinos also had their best first quarter ever, with three states setting revenue records to start the year; Arkansas ($147.4 million); Florida ($182 million), and New York ($996.6 million), according to ABC News.

“Consumers continue to seek out gaming’s entertainment options in record numbers,” said AGA president Bill Miller, who says the strong performance came “despite continued headwinds from supply chain constraints, labor shortages and the impact of soaring inflation.”

The trade group also released its annual State of the States report on Wednesday, examining gambling’s performance across the country.

As previously reported, nationwide casino revenue set an all-time high in 2021 at $53.03 billion, up 21% from the previous best year, 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

But the report includes new details, including that commercial casinos paid a record $11.69 billion in direct gambling tax revenue to state and local governments in 2021. That’s an increase of 75% from 2020 and 15 percent from 2019. This does not include the billions more paid in income, sales and other taxes, the association said.

The top three casino markets in the US in terms of revenue for 2021 were: 

Las Vegas: $7.05 billion

Atlantic City: $2.57 billion

Chicago $2.01 billion