2024 in Casino: Lang Based and Online Growth Gives Hopes

The U.S. casino gambling industry has entered an unprecedented phase of growth, marked by historic revenue levels both from traditional brick-and-mortar establishments and online platforms. The American Gaming Association (AGA) recently released its data for 2024, revealing a 7.5% year-over-year increase in total commercial gaming revenue, driven largely by the soaring success of online casinos and sports betting.

With online casino revenue up by nearly 29% year-over-year and a 33.1% surge in Q4, these figures tell a compelling story of how the gambling landscape in America is shifting and diversifying. But while online gambling has undeniably bolstered the industry, questions remain about its impact on traditional casinos—especially amid concerns over iGaming's potential to cannibalize brick-and-mortar operations.

A Record-Breaking Year for Both In-Person and Online Gambling

The AGA's 2024 report is a testament to the thriving U.S. gaming sector, with both online and in-person gaming reaching all-time highs. For land-based casinos, revenue topped $49.8 billion for the full year, with a solid $12.86 billion generated in Q4 alone. Although this represents a new single-year record, growth was relatively modest at just 0.8% for the year, though a more promising trend emerged in Q4 with a 2.3% increase. These results speak to the resilience of traditional casinos, even as new digital offerings increasingly capture consumer interest.

Meanwhile, the iGaming sector, which encompasses online casinos and sports betting, saw explosive growth. Q4 2024 alone generated nearly $2.4 billion in revenue, while the entire year brought in over $8.4 billion. These figures represent record highs for the segment, with online casinos showing especially impressive growth—up 28.7% year-over-year and 33.1% in the fourth quarter. For the first time, iGaming accounted for 30% of the total commercial gaming revenue in 2024, signaling its growing importance in the overall market.

Critics of iGaming have long warned that the rapid rise of online gambling could erode the customer base for traditional casinos, leading to a decline in physical venues. However, data from the AGA suggests that such concerns may be overstated. While the modest growth in land-based gaming revenue—especially in comparison to the meteoric rise of online gambling—could be seen as evidence of cannibalization, a deeper look at the numbers reveals a more nuanced picture.

The most compelling argument against the cannibalization theory comes from the growth patterns in states where iGaming is fully legalized. States like Connecticut, Michigan, and New Jersey, which have robust iGaming industries, experienced some of the largest increases in gaming revenue. For instance, Michigan saw a 20.1% growth in online gambling revenue in Q4, while New Jersey’s online sector grew by 6.1%. These states also reported higher-than-average increases in total gaming revenue compared to states with less-developed online markets.

One key point is that iGaming’s contribution to overall gaming revenue is still a fraction of the market share. Despite accounting for 30% of total revenue in 2024, in-person casinos still dominate the U.S. market, representing 70% of commercial gaming revenue. If iGaming were truly cannibalizing traditional casinos, we would expect to see a much sharper decline in the growth rates for physical casinos—something that is not reflected in the AGA’s report.

The State-by-State Breakdown

The AGA’s report offers a closer look at how different states are faring in terms of both online and in-person gaming. While the seven states where iGaming is fully legal (Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia) have seen some of the most significant revenue increases, Nevada, despite its iconic status as the casino capital, posted more modest growth. In Q4 2024, Nevada’s gaming revenue decreased by 1.4%, and its full-year increase was a meager 0.5%.

Nevada’s struggle to capture the same level of iGaming success as states like New Jersey and Michigan can be partially explained by its slower adoption of full online casino offerings. While online poker is legal in Nevada, it lags behind in offering other online casino games, such as slots and digital table games, which are central to the iGaming boom in other states. Nevada’s reliance on tourism-driven gaming also creates an interesting dynamic, as the vast number of visitors to the state skews the comparison between it and states with smaller populations but thriving online gaming markets.

In contrast, states like Connecticut, with its relatively small population and lack of major tourism traffic, saw significant increases in online casino revenue, up 31.3% year-over-year in 2024. This comparison underscores how iGaming has the potential to deliver substantial growth even in markets where physical casinos might not be as dominant or dependent on tourist traffic.

To better understand how iGaming is influencing physical casinos, we can look at the performance of major industry players like MGM Resorts. MGM operates multiple iconic properties, including the Borgata in Atlantic City and the MGM Grand in Detroit, Michigan. According to the company’s Q4 earnings report, regional operations—which include its physical casino properties outside of Las Vegas—showed a slight revenue increase of 6% year-over-year in Q4 2024.

Despite the growing popularity of online gambling, MGM’s regional operations did not experience significant losses or cannibalization from iGaming. In fact, the company reported an 8% increase in overall revenue for the year. These results indicate that MGM, a major player in the U.S. casino landscape, continues to thrive alongside the growth of iGaming, further challenging the notion that online casinos are damaging the bottom lines of traditional venues.

 

Despite concerns, both online and land-based casinos are thriving, with online revenue up nearly 29% in 2024, while physical casinos still account for 70% of total gaming revenue.

Conclusions and the Future

As the data from the AGA’s latest report demonstrates, the U.S. casino gambling industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Both land-based and online casinos are thriving, with online gambling playing a major role in driving the overall market growth. However, the fears that iGaming would cannibalize traditional casinos appear to be largely unfounded. While in-person gaming growth may have slowed slightly, it has not been devastated by the rise of digital platforms.

The evidence suggests that there is ample room in the U.S. market for both online and offline gambling to coexist and grow together. As iGaming continues to expand across more states and traditional casinos evolve to adapt to changing consumer preferences, the future of U.S. gambling looks bright—one where innovation and tradition can complement each other to create a more diverse and robust industry.