The 10 States With The Biggest Annual Retail Casino Revenue Growth

Of the 27 states with commercial casinos, just over half — 14 — experienced revenue increases year-over-year

Last updated: November 26, 2024

3 min

The American Gaming Association released its third quarter report for commercial gaming in the United States, and the results for traditional brick-and-mortar casinos were mixed.

Retail revenue shrunk compared to Q3 in 2023, although it did so by less than a percentage point. Slot revenue actually grew 1.3% to $9.1 billion versus last year, but table game revenue dropped to $2.42 billion, which was an 8.3% decrease compared to 2023.

Of the 27 markets with brick-and-mortar commercial casinos, 13 experienced revenue decreases year-over-year, while 14 saw revenue increase — and the increase was by an average of 8.5%, the AGA reported.

Here’s a look at the 10 states that saw the biggest annual revenue growth from their retail casinos.

Nebraska

This one is no surprise.

In August, Nebraska’s largest city, Omaha, opened its first casino, WarHorse Casino. It boasts 800 slot machines, 20 table games, and a sportsbook, plus more than 110 simulcast screens.

With an Omaha casino now on the books, expect Nebraska’s Q4 revenue to zoom ahead of its 2023 pace too — especially with the WarHorse Casino in Lincoln also expanding its gaming options to include 400 more slot machines and 10 more table games this month.

Nebraska also ranked second among states in the U.S. for overall commercial gaming revenue growth from Q3 last year to Q3 this year at 74.7%. Only Oregon (77.5%) saw a larger annual growth.

Virginia

Rivers Casino Portsmouth in Virginia has enjoyed a stellar 2024 and is the main reason Virginia saw the second-highest year-over-year retail casino revenue growth in Q3 — about 9%.

In August, it reported a remarkable 23.7% annual revenue increase with $26.65 million.

Virginia casino revenue will only increase in the future, too, as the permanent Caesars Virginia will open in December and two more casinos are coming to Norfolk and Petersburg.

Delaware

A new casino didn’t open in Delaware in Q3 this year, per se. But one facility returned to a 24/7 gaming schedule, which helped create the annual revenue growth of nearly 8%.

Bally’s Dover Casino Resort in July set its hours to all day every day for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the facility to cut its hours back. Bally’s followed the lead of Delaware Park Casino, which also returned to 24/7 gambling back in January.

Expect more growth from Delaware casino revenue, too. Delaware Park Casino has broken ground on a 10,000-square-foot outdoor gaming space that will include 250 slot machines and open in spring 2025.

Illinois

This one is pretty simple: In Q3 2023, there was no Bally’s Chicago Casino, which opened its doors in Q4 2023. So that’s the biggest reason for the revenue boost here — slightly above 6%.

As with other states on this list, we expect more growth in the future: Wind Creek Casino Southland, a new casino in Chicago’s south suburbs, opened this month. It features 1,400 slot machines and 56 table games, and we’ll start to see some initial revenue figures for it in December.

Indiana

Indiana’s newest casino, Terre Haute Casino Resort, opened in April and is the cause of the state’s annual casino revenue growth of nearly 6%.

The 400,000-square-foot resort features 1,000 slot machines, 35 table games, a poker room, and a sportsbook.

South Dakota

South Dakota is another beneficiary of a new casino for its Q3 annual revenue growth.

Rocksino by Hard Rock Deadwood opened in August 2023, toward the end of Q3 2023. So Q3 2024 was always bound to see growth with Rocksino revenue in the mix, and that growth turned out to be almost 4%.

New York

All the discussion surrounding New York casinos is on the bidding process for downstate casino licenses and the 11 bidders — including Wynn, Caesars, Hard Rock, Bally’s, and Las Vegas Sands.

But, amid all that, the current group of four commercial casinos upstate enjoyed a fantastic Q3. In August, for instance, they amassed $62.1 million in revenue, which was their best mark in two years.

The result? A Q3 annual revenue growth of about 3%.

Kansas

Kansas’ four commercial casinos combined for a year-over-year Q3 revenue growth of nearly 3%, just behind New York. There were no new openings, but strong performances from Boot Hill Casino and Kansas Star Casino in Q3 put the state firmly in the green.

Michigan

Michigan’s three commercial casinos — MotorCity Casino, MGM Grand Detroit, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown, all in Detroit — combined for Q3 annual revenue growth of just above 2%.

MGM Grand and Hollywood Casino both had a particularly strong Q3, with notable year-over-year revenue increases of 8.9% and 7.4%, respectively, in August.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is best known for being the largest tribal gaming market in the country, but its commercial casinos enjoyed a strong Q3 to the tune of about a 2% annual revenue growth.

Other states with noteworthy Q3s

There were four more states that increased their retail casino revenue in Q3:

Massachusetts
Colorado
Ohio
Arkansas

On the flipside, 13 states had their year-over-year casino revenue shrink in 2024, with no state performing worse than New Mexico at nearly a 6% contraction.

Here are those 13 states, ranked in order from smallest decrease to largest: