Growth mostly in digital as report pegs total 2024 US gambling spend at $172 billion
According to a report released this week by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, gambling spend in the United States in 2024 totalled $172 billion (£131 billion/€155 billion), a 3.3% year-over-year increase – with digital gaming verticals accounting for most of the uptick.
Commercial and tribal casinos still comprised the majority of the outlay in regulated markets with a combined 56% and retail lottery play ranked third with 22%. Mobile sports betting, online casino and poker play and ilottery, however, were the three specific disciplines where Eilers & Krejcik’s report showed double-digit percentage increases compared to 2023.
The market segment of online sports betting grew 34% in the 2024 calendar year, boosted by launches in North Carolina and Vermont. Online casino and poker play, meanwhile, surged 29%. While online lottery play climbed 26% year-over-year, it still represented only 1% of all gambling spend in 2024.
Eilers & Krejcik did not include social casinos, online sweepstakes casinos or skill-based games among its revenue figures in the report.
Retail casino and lottery GGR outpaces spend
Excluding sports betting, retail commercial and tribal casinos accounted for 61% of gross gaming revenue compared to the 56% spend. That gap came despite a mere 1% increase in the market segment for both commercial and tribal casinos and the figure does not include sports betting for the commercial venues.
Lottery revenue accounted for 22% of operator winnings, narrowly outpacing the 21% in total spend from both online and retail lottery action. While revenue totals for lottery play were not split in the report, casino and lottery play provided a reminder of the still-lopsided percentage retail play generates compared to online. In-person wagering accounted for 85% of gross gaming revenue in 2024 compared to 15% from online sources.
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