For the second straight year, the U.S. tribal gaming industry has logged a new all-time revenue record.
On June 27, the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) announced that Indian gaming clocked $41.9 billion in revenue for 2023, a 2.4 percent increase over 2022’s record of $40.9 billion.
The NIGC’s report compiled financial data from a total of 527 gaming operations from 245 tribes across 29 states. Class II and Class III gaming are included in the data.
All eight of the geographic regions outlined by the NIGC showed year-over-year revenue increases of at least 1.1 percent compared to 2022. The Sacramento region, which includes California and northern Nevada, was the biggest earner as per usual, reporting just under $12 billion in revenue.
This was followed by the D.C. region ($9.2 billion), which includes most of the Southern states and New York. The St. Paul region ($5.1 billion) was third, encompassing Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Indiana.
Notably, tribal hotspot Oklahoma is split in half—the Oklahoma City region ($3.2 billion) includes the western part of the state and Texas, whereas the Tulsa region ($3.6 billion) includes the eastern half as well as Kansas. The combined $6.8 billion would have been good for third.
“This year’s GGR results demonstrate how a strong regulatory framework and diversity of tribal gaming enterprises generates growth in the gaming industry,” acting NIGC Chair Sharon Avery said in a statement. “Again, this year, tribal gaming operators and regulators have proven that their ingenuity and tenacity are catalysts for growth, even in the face of an ever-changing gaming landscape.”
In terms of year-over-year increases, the Phoenix region ($3.9 billion) saw the biggest jump at 5.5 percent. That includes Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and southern Nevada.
The Rapid City region ($425 million), which comprises the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming, was the lowest of all in terms of revenue but had the second-largest increase at 4.9 percent.
The other six all registered gains between 1.1-2.8 percent.
“I congratulate the industry regulators, operators, and tribal leadership on another successful year,” said NIGC Vice Chair Jeannie Hovland. “Their hard work in meeting and overcoming the challenges presented by an increasingly competitive market is evidence that tribes are resilient, and their gaming expertise is yielding benefits for their nations as IGRA intended.”
Since 2005, tribal gaming revenue has increased every year except for two instances–2020, when figures were severely impacted by the Covid pandemic, and 2009, which matched 2008’s figure of $26.5 billion.
