2021 Revenue Expected to Break Record
Chalk it up to increased awareness due to mainstream advertising, more accommodating laws, or simply accessibility in the online space, but one thing is undeniable: gambling revenues have reached new heights.
Industry experts are predicting more than $44 billion in revenue will be generated in 2021, and it seems that number is only going to grow in the coming years. In this article, I’ll dive into a few of the reasons why the sky seems to be the limit for growth:
iGaming is Growing Exponentially
If you’re unfamiliar with the latest in gambling terminology, iGaming is best described as wagering that happens in an online casino (this applies to mobile apps, too). Today, iGaming is only fully legal in six states, but you wouldn’t guess it by looking at the numbers.
In the first half of the fiscal year 2021 alone, online gaming brought in a total of $1.66 billion in revenue. A staggering amount for just half the year, but even more so when you consider that it surpassed the entire year’s $1.55 billion in revenue from 2020.
Major Investment In Sports Gambling
PASPA (The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) was repealed in 2018, meaning the barrier that existed between sports gambling and legality no longer existed. Fast forward a little more than two years, and gaming companies are sinking billions into this burgeoning industry.
One of the most notable investments came from Penn National Gaming, which acquired Canadian company Score Media, for $2 billion in mid-2021. DraftKings, now a household name, also grabbed up some additional real estate in the gambling space as they purchased Golden Nugget Online in a deal valued around $1.56 billion.
In the past, legal sports gambling has only been available in locations that can best be described as few and far between. Today, 29 states have put their stamp of approval on this form of gaming, and it’s expected that more will follow in the years to come. In 2021 alone, sports betting surpassed $2 billion in revenue. Not bad for something that was completely illegal just three years prior.
Physical Casinos Are Still Pulling Their Weight
With all the online options available to gamblers in 2021, it might seem like physical gaming establishments would have their work cut out for them in terms of maintaining existing revenue streams, not to mention growing in scale. Somewhat surprisingly, this was not the case.
Obviously, the pandemic caused a dip in fiscal year 2020. Lockdowns, travel restrictions, mask mandates, and everything else that we reluctantly recall from the year Covid-19 took over impacted the bottom lines of land-based casinos. With that being said, the rebound in 2021 has led to optimism for the future of the industry.
According to the AGA (American Gaming Association), of the 25 states which have casinos within their borders, 22 reported higher revenue numbers in the second quarter of 2021 when compared with the same period in 2019 in pre-pandemic conditions.
Unsurprisingly, Nevada led the way with $3.46 billion in revenue (a 17% increase from 2019). Pennsylvania and New Jersey also reported strong increases over the same period, bringing in $1.21 billion and $1.11 billion respectively.
The concerns that gaming companies with large stakes in physical casinos had following 2020 were justified, but fortunately it looks like the future is still looking bright.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a sports bettor, casino gambler, or simply have an interest in the evolution of the industry, the next few years will be fascinating to follow. Expectations are lofty, but if the past year was any indication, there’s no stopping the exponential growth that was seen by the gaming industry in 2021 because a lot of new gambling sites appear every month. You can check new USA accepted online casinos on Casinority USA. Choose licensed and play safely!
