iGaming & Sports Betting in the United States About to Reel in $40 Billion
This week’s casino news starts off in Osaka, Japan where MGM Resorts has won the rights to build a casino. Let’s take a closer look at that and at the revenue numbers of sports betting and igaming in the US.
Sports Betting And iGaming In The United States Could Hit $40 Billion in Revenue
Speaking of untapped markets, iGaming and Sports betting in the United States – which is just starting to grow legally – could reel in $40 billion in revenue per year. While those numbers sound lofty, they are merely considering the fact that many states haven’t legalized the pastimes yet, so there is ample room to grow.
Sports betting revenue has already increased 435 percent compared to last year with New Jersey leading the charge. With the football season underway as well, that number is projected to jump even higher. DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM are all among the sports betting operators that are bringing in the most revenue.
iGaming is also going to be taking a nice jump. Projections say that they could increase up to $14 billion in revenue by the year 2033. As it stands right now, they are only at $1.5 billion.
MGM Resorts Winner Of Osaka Casino Rights
MGM Resorts were able to become the last company standing in the race to place a casino in Osaka. After partnering with Orix, they gave themselves an edge in the competition and it apparently worked out as Osaka has chosen to go ahead with MGM. Back in July, there were announcements that a $9 billion casino concept was planning to be placed inside the city’s Yumeshima Island.
Osaka wasn’t really left with many options in this race, though. They opted to be really choosy and a lot of other companies decided to drop out of the running. A lot of other competitors chose to pass after rising concerns regarding the tax and regulations placed in the city. The time that it was taking for Osaka to officially choose an operator also killed a lot of their enthusiasm towards the project.
According to a recent announcement, MGM Resorts and Orix are both expected to own 40 percent of the integrated resort. The remaining 20 percent will be split out to other Japanese companies. However, if those companies aren’t involved, both MGM and Orix will float up to 50 percent each. They hope to make lots of money in what many people feel to be one of the ripest gambling markets in the world.
Atlantic City Casinos See Dip in Revenue During August Compared To 2019 Numbers
The latest numbers out of Atlantic City are out and it appears that the casinos in the area weren’t able to keep up with their revenue numbers pre-pandemic numbers. Their nine brick-and-mortar casinos in the state were able to get a total of $262.4 million that month. Compared to their revenue numbers back in August of 2019, they are down 8.4 percent. They are also down 5.3 percent from their July numbers.
However, those numbers take a big jump once you include iGaming and sports betting. Those numbers shoot up al the way to $397.6 million, $58.8 million more than the amount August brought in during 2019. As a matter of fact, it represents a 17 percent increase.
Despite the solid numbers that Atlantic City casinos are bringing in right now, they are still very much in the search for more employees. Hard Rock President, Joe Lupo, said, “We’ve been looking for people all summer long…we’re looking to continue providing some jobs to the local community.” Hopefully they are able to fill the positions that they are looking for and take another jump in their operations. If you’re looking for a job, Atlantic City is the place to be.