Americans may have turned more risk-averse in their investing, but the nation's appetite for gambling grew at a steady pace last year, according to a study released Thursday.
In its annual survey of casino revenue, visitation and demographics, the American Gaming Association trade group found that 53.4 million people visited U.S. gambling halls in 2003, a jump of about 2 million from the year before.
Bettors made a total of 310 million trips to the nation's 443 commercial casinos, generating about $27 billion worth of gross gambling revenue. That is up 2 percent from 2002, but more than double the figure 10 years ago.
While that is less than the $41.5 billion Americans spent on fishing, it tops the $23.8 billion spent on DVD/VHS rentals and sales, the $10.3 billion shelled out at amusement parks and the $9.5 billion dropped at the movie box office.
Plus, the $27 billion figure does not include money spent on hotel rooms, meals and entertainment -- a substantial and growing piece of the industry pie.
Nevada earned its crown as the king of gambling markets, with $9.6 billion in gross gaming revenues, followed by New Jersey at $4.5 billion, Mississippi's $2.7 billion and Indiana's $2.2 billion. Louisiana, with $2 billion, rounded out the top five.
The study, compiled by Harrah's Entertainment (HET: news, chart, profile) and market research firm NFO World Group (which was sold off by ad giant Interpublic (IPG: news, chart, profile) last year) found that casino gamblers are slightly older and richer than the average American Their median age is 48, as opposed to 46 for the general population, and median household income tops $53,000, versus just under $46,000.
Lotteries remained the most common form of wagering, with 46 percent of the adult population playing the numbers last year. Casinos were visited by 27 percent of the adult population, while 19 percent were in sports betting pools, 12 percent played poker, 7 percent went to the track and just 2 percent did their betting online.
http://cbs.marketwatch.com
In its annual survey of casino revenue, visitation and demographics, the American Gaming Association trade group found that 53.4 million people visited U.S. gambling halls in 2003, a jump of about 2 million from the year before.
Bettors made a total of 310 million trips to the nation's 443 commercial casinos, generating about $27 billion worth of gross gambling revenue. That is up 2 percent from 2002, but more than double the figure 10 years ago.
While that is less than the $41.5 billion Americans spent on fishing, it tops the $23.8 billion spent on DVD/VHS rentals and sales, the $10.3 billion shelled out at amusement parks and the $9.5 billion dropped at the movie box office.
Plus, the $27 billion figure does not include money spent on hotel rooms, meals and entertainment -- a substantial and growing piece of the industry pie.
Nevada earned its crown as the king of gambling markets, with $9.6 billion in gross gaming revenues, followed by New Jersey at $4.5 billion, Mississippi's $2.7 billion and Indiana's $2.2 billion. Louisiana, with $2 billion, rounded out the top five.
The study, compiled by Harrah's Entertainment (HET: news, chart, profile) and market research firm NFO World Group (which was sold off by ad giant Interpublic (IPG: news, chart, profile) last year) found that casino gamblers are slightly older and richer than the average American Their median age is 48, as opposed to 46 for the general population, and median household income tops $53,000, versus just under $46,000.
Lotteries remained the most common form of wagering, with 46 percent of the adult population playing the numbers last year. Casinos were visited by 27 percent of the adult population, while 19 percent were in sports betting pools, 12 percent played poker, 7 percent went to the track and just 2 percent did their betting online.
http://cbs.marketwatch.com
