AGA Report: Sports Betting Soars Amid 2021 Commercial Gaming Revenue Record Of $53 Billion

The American Gaming Association (AGA) announced that the U.S. commercial gaming revenue reached a record $52.99 billion in 2021. The AGA reported Tuesday that the remarkable growth was more than 21 percent higher than the previous annual record, set in 2019. It was also nearly 77 percent higher than 2020, when COVID-19 forced the industry into months-long shutdowns across the country.

Sports betting generated $57.22 billion in handle and $4.29 billion in revenue – jumps of 165 percent and 177 percent over 2020 respectively. 

“These results are nothing short of remarkable,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. The reported results from the AGA released Feb. 15 reflects “our commitment to health and safety and how Americans have welcomed gaming’s expansion across the country.”

AGA Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker 

The 2021 figure included an all-time quarterly revenue record of $14.31 billion in Q4, which surpassed the previous record of $13.93 billion set just three months earlier in Q3.

Sports Betting Growth

The market for legalized sports betting in the U.S. accelerated in 2021 as Americans wagered a record $57.22 billion. Sports betting’s all-time high was powered by strong demand in established markets like Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and further boosted by the launch of seven new commercial sports betting markets in Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming, as well as four tribal-only sports betting states.

Continued market expansion across the U.S. also led to record annual wagering in 17 of 18 existing markets, including a steep surge in Michigan following the addition of legal, mobile wagering options.

“Today’s industry is effectively meeting customers how and where they want to engage—whether at a casino or through mobile gaming,” Miller said.

• AGA’s State of Play Map—newly updated for 2022—charts gaming’s economic impact, industry regulations and casino locations on state-by-state basis for both the commercial and tribal gaming sectors.

Economic growth has surpassed consensus expectations formed at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020. As a result, in the second quarter of 2021 real GDP exceeded its pre-pandemic level. Miller stated he was optimistic of continued gaming growth throughout 2022 as the economy recovers.

“Despite our record-setting year, gaming’s total recovery is still reliant on the full return of travel and large events, which requires a safe health environment and open economy,” Miller said.