The American Gaming Association recently released its State of the States 2024 and Q1 2024 Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. The reports showed that the Massachusetts gaming market has grown alongside the rest of the country.
The total revenue from United States commercial gaming, which does not include tribal casinos, amounted to $66.7 billion. That was 10.3% more than Q1 in 2022, when $60.5 billion was accumulated. This was the third-consecutive year that the annual record was broken.
Contributing to that total were Massachusetts sports betting operators and the state’s three casinos. Massachusetts online casinos are still illegal, which limited its impact on the national total.
Massachusetts sports betting launch leads to 47.3% annual revenue jump in 2023
The Bay State generated $1.7 billion of commercial gaming revenue, a 47.3% jump from 2022, when $1.1 billion was generated.
The story was similar across the rest of the country. The reports from the American Gaming Association stated that 32 of 36 jurisdictions saw an annual increase in commercial gaming revenue in 2023 compared to 2022. The reason the term ‘jurisdiction’ is used is because it also includes the District of Columbia in addition to each state with legal sports betting.
From 2022 to 2023, Massachusetts commercial gaming revenue jumped up by 47.3%. It brought in $1.7 billion of revenue in 2023. That was $536 million more than in 2022, when Massachusetts generated $1.1 billion of revenue, per data provided by the American Gaming Association.
Massachusetts can attribute much of its growth to the addition of a sports betting market, which launched in early 2023. Despite operating for just over one year, Massachusetts proved to be the sixth-largest sports betting market based on the March revenue report.
It took $642.3 million of wagers in March which was 17.1% higher year over year. Overall, Massachusetts sports betting in March generated $45.6 million in revenue. Those numbers stayed relatively in line for the April sports betting report, with $603.3 million of total handle and $50.6 million of revenue generated.
Massachusetts also ranked seventh nationally in FY2023 tax revenue, collecting $99.5 million. The state is currently on pace to exceed the $100 million mark in taxes paid in FY2024. Right away, Massachusetts sports betting has become an unquestioned top-10 market in the United States.
In addition to everything else, Massachusetts has three thriving casinos contributing to that total. In April, those Massachusetts casinos generated $97.5 million in revenue from table games and slot machines.
Massachusetts gaming growth has continued through Q1 2024
The success in 2023 continued into the first quarter of 2024.
Despite bad weather and less-than-ideal sports betting results for operators, Massachusetts commercial gaming revenue in Q1 2024 was $479.6 million. That figure was 37.3% better year over year, according to the American Gaming Association.
Ten states managed to accumulate more revenue than Massachusetts in Q1 2024, but the whole industry was volatile during that span of time. Massachusetts’s 37.3% year-over-year increase in commercial gaming revenue is a great sign of what is to come for sports betting and Massachusetts casinos.
However, if the state wants to really bolster the bottom line, adding a Massachusetts online casino industry would be a big help. Unfortunately for operators, Massachusetts appears content taking a slow and methodical approach to legalizing iGaming.
Massachusetts legislators will not rush into the online casino industry despite gaming success
There is no denying just how much of an impact online casinos have made despite operating in only a handful of states.
The American Gaming Association’s State of the States 2024 reported that the iGaming market in just six states generated a whopping $6.17 billion of revenue, an increase of 28.2% year over year despite no expansion of any kind.
Despite the seemingly surefire success of a potential Massachusetts online casino market, lawmakers are being slow and careful as they consider the idea. Boston-based Attorney Kevin C. Conroy spoke to PlayMA about online casinos back in July 2023. Conroy explained that the state legislature prefers to move slowly, saying:
“I think the legislature likes to move slowly with gaming. They passed the initial gaming law in 2011. It took them 11 years to then authorize sports betting.”
Even with many states near Massachusetts legalizing iGaming, such as Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey, Conroy does not expect to see online casinos go anywhere substantive anytime soon.
“I think the legislature likes to move slower. I don’t think we will see online gaming in this legislative session.”
