U.S. Commercial Gaming Hits Record Q3 with 7.2% Growth, Driven by Strong iGaming Performance

Commercial Gaming Revenue Growth Accelerates in Q3

Data compiled by the AGA from state disclosures show that total revenue from land-based casinos, sports betting, and iGaming reached $18.96 billion in Q3 2025, marking a 7.2% year-over-year increase. This quarter represents the industry’s 19th consecutive quarter of growth and the highest third-quarter revenue ever recorded.

Despite this overall growth, revenue momentum slowed in September, driven by declines in brick-and-mortar and sports betting revenues. Monthly revenue for September totaled $6.12 billion, with sports betting down 21.2% and traditional casino revenue slightly contracting by 0.1%. In contrast, iGaming continued its robust expansion, growing 27.5% year-over-year, helping sustain the industry’s strong quarterly performance.

Online Revenue Share Declines Slightly
The U.S. commercial gaming industry realized year-over-year growth across land-based and online gaming in the third quarter. 

Quarterly revenue from land-based gaming – comprising casino slots, table games and retail sports betting – totaled $12.93 billion, 3.0 percent higher than Q3 2024.  

Meanwhile, online gaming revenue growth – comprising iGaming and online sports betting – increased 8.5 percent year-over-year, with gains slowed by a weak September for online sports betting, that offset strong July and August performance.  

Combined revenue from online sports betting and iGaming was $6.00 billion in Q3 as online gaming made up 31.7% of commercial gaming revenue, a slight decline from the past few quarters. 

Table and Slot Games See Year over Year increase in Q3 
Traditional brick-and-mortar casino gaming revenue expanded by 3.5 percent in the third quarter, with slot machines and table games generating $12.80 billion in revenue. Brick and mortar revenue increased year-over-year in July and August, before contracting slightly in September.  

Nationwide, casino slot machines generated $9.46 billion in Q3, up 4.0 percent from the previous year, while table games produced $2.45 billion, up 1.3% year-over-year. The separate slot and table game figures do not include data from Louisiana and Michigan, where traditional casino gaming data is reported in aggregate rather than as separate verticals. 

At the state market level, 22 of 27 markets posted traditional casino revenue increases compared to the prior year. Nebraska (+63.4%), Virginia (+35.6%) and Illinois (+20.4%) each posted strong growth with all three continuing to benefit from relatively recent expansion.  

Sports Betting Contracts with Weak September Performance
Third quarter sports betting revenue grew 6.8 percent to $3.45 billion, a third-quarter revenue record.

September revenue declined 21.1 percent with every state but Maryland (+11.7) seeing a year-over-year decrease.

Third quarter commercial sports betting handle increased 13.9 percent as Americans wagered $33.18 billion on sports from July through September. Third quarter sports betting hold decreased 66 basis points, to 9.99 percent from 10.65 percent last year. Year to date, the sports betting hold rate was 9.91 percent, up 10 basis points over the same period last year.

By comparison, September’s hold fell nearly three and a half percent compared to 2024, to 8.36 percent from 11.70 percent, driving the sharp decline in September revenue.

iGaming Revenue Continues Expansion
iGaming revenue growth remained strong in the second quarter, generating $2.69 billion of revenue across seven states, up 29.6 percent over the third quarter of last year.

Each of the seven iGaming states grew year-over-year in the third quarter, led by 88.9 percent growth in Delaware.

Year-to-date through September, national iGaming revenue stands at $7.82B, 29.7 percent higher than the same period last year.