Recent data released by the American Gaming Association on the national trade group of the casino industry revealed that the second quarter of this year has been the best for American casinos. Based on the said report, the casino industry in the US was able to rake in over 13.6 billion US dollars in the second quarter.
This amount almost equals how much the US has earned in revenues in 2020 when many casinos had to stop their operations because of the lockdown. This just shows that the in-person sector of the gambling industry in the country is on its way to recovery.
Surely, after many casinos temporarily closing last year and only operating at a limited capacity for quite a while, many gamblers are looking forward to visiting these places once again. While American online casinos have proven to be a great alternative, traveling to gambling hotspots is still in the hearts of these players.
Will This Be the Case Moving Forward?
2021 is already a better year for the US casino industry compared to last year. With how things are going, the industry could even surpass its record in 2019 when there was no health crisis throughout the world. 2019 is still the highest-grossing year for the industry with over 43.6 billion USD. This year, the industry has already made almost 25 million USD in the first six months alone.
The president of AGA, Bill Miller, spoke about how remarkable the first-half results are this year. He said, “These first-half results are truly remarkable. COVID-19 is not yet in the rearview mirror, but I’m confident the record first half of 2021 has laid a strong foundation for the industry’s full recovery.”
Indeed, the world is still dealing with the pandemic and more variant of the virus is being discovered like the Delta variant. Miller did say that this variant caused some setbacks. He said, “We’ve had a setback for sure with the Delta variant and some challenges with vaccinations, but I think we’re going to get through it. We have, as an industry, focused very strongly on ensuring that we’re providing both a safe environment for our employees and our guests.
“We also continue to listen to where our governmental leaders tell us what we need to do. I was out in Las Vegas about two and a half weeks ago to witness a couple of different trade shows. During that time, if you were vaccinated, you didn’t have to wear masks. Guidance has changed. There may well be the guidance that changes a couple more times.”
The AGA also said that 22 of the states with commercial casinos have seen an increase in gambling revenue in the second quarter of this year. What also mainly helped the industry survive this pandemic is sports betting and online casinos.
Last year, many have resorted to online gambling as a safe alternative. Some also didn’t have any other choice when land casinos had to temporarily close. Because of online gambling platforms, sports betting also thrived.
However, the AGA reported that the half quarter revenue of the country’s sports betting this year dropped to 8 percent, but this is because of a quitter sports calendar. The second half of this year will likely be better for the sports betting sector as the 2022 season of the NFL is set to start in September.
People are Ready and Looking Forward to Going to Casinos
The AGA said that casinos will remain without any restrictions and limitations in all 25 states that have commercial casinos that are not run by Indian tribes. With that, people are free to visit gambling hotspots like Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Several casino-goers spoke about how they are just ready to visit casinos again. Jeanne Bachard from Connecticut said she’s not concerned anymore as she is already vaccinated. She said, “I live by the rule I will take care of myself and not worry about how anyone else lives their lives. I do what I feel is right for me.”
Another person from Connecticut, Gene Brandon, talked about how he used to go to casinos twice a month before the pandemic. He stopped for a while but ever since he got vaccinated, he started to visit casinos again. Brandon said, “When going now, I still mask up to reduce the chance of inadvertently contracting and transmitting to those that are not vaccinated, especially those under 12.”