For the sixth straight year, the U.S. commercial gaming industry has set a new revenue record. According to State of the States 2026: The AGA Survey of the Commercial Casino Industry, revenue reached $78.6 billion in 2025, up 9.1% year-over-year and generating $17.9 billion in gaming tax revenue for state and local governments.
The report estimates the gaming industry provides 1.8 million jobs across the United States.
“These results are especially meaningful given the economic uncertainty that characterized much of 2025,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said in a statement. “They reflect the enduring appeal of legal, regulated gaming as a form of entertainment and the strength of the American blueprint for gaming that we have built together over decades.”
State of the States provides a comprehensive overview of the commercial casino gaming industry in each of the 38 jurisdictions with legal commercial casino gaming or sports betting as of December 31. Not included were horse or dog racetracks without electronic gaming devices, historical horse racing terminal locations or off-track betting operations, lottery retail locations, charitable gaming venues, tribal gaming facilities as defined by the National Indian Gaming Commission, card rooms or other locations at which gaming is incidental to the primary business.
Sports betting revenue climbed 22.6% to $16.9 billion, with New York surpassing $2.5 billion in annual sports betting revenue. Revenue from igaming exceeded $10.7 billion across the seven legal online casino states, up 27.6% year-over-year.
Other highlights include the 25th Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas in 2025 and helping to secure a raise in slot tax reporting threshold for the first time since 1977. The AGA also increased efforts to fight illegal gambling.
“Working alongside state and tribal regulators, attorneys general, and law enforcement, we successfully stopped the advance of sweepstakes casinos and saw them pushed out of many key markets,” Miller said.
Also, the AGA spearheaded efforts to confront prediction markets, which it considers to be a threat to legal gaming.
“We mobilized the industry and our partners to address the growing threat of prediction markets offering sports betting outside of established state and tribal gaming law,” Miller said. “This fight goes to the heart of the American gaming framework: consumer protections, responsible gaming standards, and the fair distribution of tax revenue depend on a clear, state-regulated system.”
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, Miller said the AGA will continue to champion state and tribal authority over gaming regulation and “fight to ensure a favorable policy environment so that legal gaming can continue to innovate and invest in the communities we serve.”
To read the report: State of the States 2026 – American Gaming Association.
