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The American Gaming Association just put out its yearly reports on the industry. Their 2025 State of the States and Gaming CEO Outlook reports show what’s happening in casinos and betting across the country.
The AGA collects data from 38 states where commercial gaming is legal. This year’s report shows the fourth straight record-breaking year for the industry.
Money tells the story. When an industry keeps breaking records during uncertain economic times, it’s worth noticing.
The $72.4bn in revenue marks a 7.5% jump from 2023. That growth came mostly from online casino games and mobile sports betting, which continue to gain in popularity and governments are cashing in too. States and local areas got $15.91bn in taxes from gaming.
Most states hit their own records. In fact, 28 out of 38 gaming states set new all-time highs for revenue.
Two states – North Carolina and Vermont – reported commercial gaming money for the first time after they started allowing mobile sports betting.
The short-term outlook has some mixed signals. The Gaming Conditions Index shows the industry shrinking a bit in early 2025 compared to last year. But equipment makers seem more upbeat than they’ve been since late 2023.
Nearly half the casino executives surveyed think revenue growth will speed up over the next 6 to 12 months. Many plan to increase their investments as a result.
Hotels connected to casinos are getting requests for meetings and events that beat pre-COVID numbers. These bookings held steady compared to last year, with a tiny 0.3% increase.
The gaming industry clearly thinks the good times aren’t ending soon. Despite some caution signals, the overall mood among industry leaders points to continued growth through the rest of 2025.
These recent findings posted by the AGA follow its March Madness 2025 projection of $3.1bn in bets, representing a 13.8% year-on-year increase.
March Madness was a month that revolved around the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments, which saw 68 teams join a single knockout tournament competition where only four teams remain by the end of the month. March Madness tournaments have earned a reputation for being some of the most wagered on compared to other tournaments worldwide.
This positive momentum within the US sports betting market comes as a surprise, since no US states have announced legalising sports wagering since March last year.
In February 2025, AGA revealed that the US Gambling Industry achieved record growth, generating a commercial revenue figure of $71.9bn.
Throughout FY2024, traditional casino GGR was proven to be the driving force in US Gambling revenue, generating a GGR figure of €46.8bn.
