There is some more bad news for land-based poker casinos, at least in the U.S. For the second straight year, gaming revenues produced by the nation’s commercial casino industry tumbled as the recession caused gamblers to watch their wallets more closely.
According to figures released Thursday by the Washington, D.C.-based American Gaming Association in its annual “State of the States” report, commercial poker casinos in 13 states collected $30.74 billion from gamblers, a 5.5 percent decrease compared to $32.54 billion collected in 2008.
A year ago, the commercial casino industry saw revenues decline by 4.7 percent. The two-year drop has sent the annual revenue figure back to levels last seen in 2005.
Of the 13 states with commercial casinos, eight reported declines in poker online gaming revenues compared with 2008. One, Kansas, opened its first casino in 2009. The American Gaming Association found the 12 states with racetrack casinos saw revenues increase 5 percent over 2008.
States with gaming markets that are considered destination resorts, such as Las Vegas, suffered the deepest revenue declines in 2009.
New Jersey’s casinos in Atlantic City took the largest tumble, falling 13.3 percent from $4.54 billion in 2008 to $3.94 billion last year. Nevada casinos won $10.39 billion from gamblers in 2009, down 10.4 percent compared to 2008. Mississippi casinos, which includes the Gulf Coast, saw revenues decline 9.4 percent while the Louisiana market was off 5 percent