Fall 2016 issue of Horizons

GAMING

Growth Continues Amidst Underlying Weakness by Daniel Holmes, CPA, CIA, CGMA

T he United States commercial gaming industry continues its growth trend through June 2016. The commercial gaming industry generated $19.4 billion in gaming revenues, producing an overall 1.1% or $219.5 million increase in gaming revenues when compared to the first six months of 2015. Since 2012, the gaming revenues produced from January through June have increased $652.2 million at a compounded annual growth rate of 0.7%. The growth is notable because it is regional growth originating from existing casino operations. Through the first six months of 2016, 70.8% (17 of 24) of the states offering commercial gaming recorded state-wide revenue increases when compared to the same period in 2015.

Most notably, the Northeast and Mid- Atlantic, which have been textbook examples of market saturation, saw an overall 4.3% increase in gaming revenues with 55.6% (5 of 9) of the states reporting increased gaming revenues. During this period of growth, there have been no notable large-scale casino expansion activities. The only two markets with casino expansion occurred in Florida where the Dana Jai Alai casino reopened in January 2016 after undergoing extensive construction and renovations, and also in Massachusetts where the Plainridge Park & Casino opened in June 2015. Combined, these two casinos contributed $82.7 million in gaming expansion revenues.

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