The State of the Union's Casinos Addressed and Statistics about US Gaming

As revenues decrease in CT, and MA looks to build 3 full service casino resorts, I was wondering about the state of Gambling in the country as a whole.
Brian Pempus, from Bloomberg reported Sunday that U.S. commercial casino revenue last year was $37 billion in 2012, a figure still below 2007 peak of $37.5 billion  The figure was based on the organization’s findings as well as data from the American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s top lobbying group on Capitol Hill.  The most recent tally, as of December 2011, has 445 commercial casinos in the country. However, some states, particularly in the eastern half of the country, have beefed up their gambling industry with new properties. It’s unclear exactly how many casinos exist in the United States at the present time. A handful have recently popped up in Ohio, once one of the few states without any gambling facilities. Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are three states which are on the verge of more casino construction after their respective officials authorized more gaming. Despite more casinos contributing to the figure, the $37 billion is definitely a sign that the industry is recovering from the effects of the Great Recession.

The 2013 AGA  (American Gaming Association) “State of the States” report is due out in soon and in it should contain more details on how the industry rebounded to $37 billion in 2012. The total includes land-based, riverboat, and racetrack casinos in 23 states; Native American casinos are not considered. Nevada had the highest win figure at $10.86 billion, followed by Pennsylvania ($3.16 billion), New Jersey ($3.05 billion), Indiana ($2.61 billion), and Louisiana ($2.40 billion).

So, here are more interesting US gambling facts:




A nationwide survey by the U.S. Travel Industry Association found that 38% of all U.S. residents have been to Las Vegas in their lifetime. The average length of visitors' stay in Las Vegas was almost 4 days (3.7).

68% of the people who gamble play the slot machines most often.

Today, 42 states operate lotteries, 37 have commercial, Indian or racetrack casinos and only 2 - Utah and Hawaii - don't allow any form of gambling.

Two decades ago, 2 states had legal gambling and 48 states outlawed it. Today, 48 states have some form of legal gambling. Only Hawaii and Utah do not.

Over 60% of American adults gambled last year or over the past twelve months on some activity. Over 80% say that gambling is legitimate and casinos are okay.

Gambling generates more revenue than movies, spectator sports, theme parks, cruise ships and recorded music combined.

Gambling has become a $40 billion dollar a year industry in the United States.

From 1974 to 1994--20 years--the amount of money Americans legally wagered has risen 2,800 percent, from $17 billion to $482 billion.

Each day in the United States, slot machines take in an average of more than $1 billion in wagers. Collectively, slot machines gross more annually than McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Starbucks combined.

The California State Employee's Retirement fund, U.S. Steel's pension fund, and Harvard University's endowment have all owned stock in gambling companies.


So , that's all for now.

Binbin