A new study carried out by the industry’s national trade association revealed that the US casino gambling sector generates almost $329 billion in economic activity on an annual basis.
The report was the first study of its kind released by the body since the year 2018, when 2017 data was presented.
The beginning of the saw the American Gaming Association (AGA) release evidence that the economic impact of the casino industry in 2022 rose by 26% from 2017. Currently, a total of 1.8 million jobs, including 700,000 jobs at casinos or their related businesses, are being supported by tribal and commercial casinos, which is nearly the same number of jobs supported by the sector in 2017. According to the results of the AGA study, the wages generated by those jobs rose by 40% in the five years from 2017 to 2022, reaching approximately $104 billion.
Last year, the US casino industry paid $52.7 billion in taxes to the federal, state, and local Governments, a figure that represents a 29% increase since the one reported five years ago.
The president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, Bill Miller, commented that the numbers show the resiliencе and continued strength of the US casino sector since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. He confirmed that the industry has now managed to generate record revenue, although only a few years ago almost all of the 1,000 casinos in the country were forced to cease operations as a result of the strict lockdown measures aimed at preventing the disease from spreading.
Mr. Miller also noted that the AGA will use numbers from its largest survey to once again repeat its argument to lawmakers in favor of the gambling industry objectives, including some measures taken by the Government against unlicensed gambling operations in the country.
US Casino Industry Thriving Despite Covid-19-Related Economic Difficulties
The latest American Gaming Association survey examined the amount of money the operators won from gamblers or generated as a result of casino resort visitors’ spending on non-gambling casino operations, such as retail stores and restaurants. It also took into account the companies’ capital investment. Furthermore, the survey took into account supply chain spending by casino operators, as well as spending by casino workers on non-gambling items. The final figure also included casino patrons’ so-called “catalytic spending” outside casinos worth $13.5 billion.
Reports have shown that the casino industry in the US is thriving with its best year ever in terms of the amount of money won from its customers so far. According to market analysts, the sector is on a pace to exceed the $60 billion it won from US gamblers in 2022.
As explained by the University of Nevada’s gambling historian David Schwartz, US casinos remain powerful drivers of the country’s economic activity despite some economic difficulties faced over the last few years.
The director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University in New Jersey, Jane Bokunewicz, shared that money won by casinos across the country is just part of their overall contribution to the local economy, especially considering the fact that casinos are often the biggest employers in a certain region. Furthermore, casino companies usually spend massive sums on operating costs, hire local vendors and builders whenever construction or ongoing capital improvements are involved, etc.
In 2022, commercial casinos across the US employed almost 332,000 workers, who were granted overall wages and benefits of $16.3 billion. US tribal casinos, on the other hand, employed almost 265,000 people, who received $8 billion in wages and benefits. A further 89,000 jobs were supported at businesses serving casino patrons or in casino construction, development, and renovation, along with over 23,000 jobs maintained by manufacturers of gambling equipment.
Non-gambling revenue accounted for almost 17% of the overall casino revenue last year.
