U.S. casinos won $66.5B in 2023, their best year ever

abcnews.go.com:

New figures from the gambling industry show America's commercial casinos won more than $66 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry’s best year ever

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — America's commercial casinos won $66.5 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry's best year ever, according to figures released by its national trade association Tuesday.

The American Gaming Association said that total was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record-setting year.

When revenue figures from tribal-owned casinos are released separately later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gambling brought in close to $110 billion to U.S. casino operators in 2023.

That all happened in a year in which inflation, while receding, still kept things like grocery and energy costs higher than they had been.

“From the traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ demand for gaming is at an all-time high,” said Bill Miller, the association's president and CEO.

Early last year, when the group gave its annual statistical assessment, “inflation was high, uncertainty was in the air. Forecasters couldn't agree what these challenges might do to discretionary income," Miller said.

As they year went on, “inflation began to cool, consumers began to spend and the (Federal Reserve) held rates steady,” he added. “The result was a record-breaking year for our industry.”

Not even the pre-holiday shopping crunch discouraged gamblers from laying their money down: casinos won $6.2 billion in December and $17.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, both of which set records.

In-person gambling remains the bread and butter of the industry. Slot machines brought in $35.51 billion in 2023, an increase of 3.8% from the previous