According to a new study, casino revenues are expected to rise over the next few years. From the AP via Washington Post:
Global revenue from gambling is expected to climb 8.8 percent annually from $82.2 billion last year to $125 billion by 2010, according to a new estimate by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Fueled by new casinos in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, the Asia-Pacific region will grow the fastest at 14 percent annually, surpassing revenue from the region encompassing Europe, the Middle East and Africa when it hits $23 billion by 2010, the firm said.
The United States, which is predicted to remain the world’s largest gambling market, is expected to see gambling revenue grow 6.9 percent per year, from $53.4 billion in 2005 to $74.5 billion in 2010, it said.
Billions of dollars of investment in new casinos in Nevada are expected to give the state’s gambling revenue an annual 8.2 percent increase from $11.7 billion to $17.3 billion, boosting the state’s share from 21 percent to 23 percent of the U.S. gambling market.
Tribal casino operators are seen increasing their share of the U.S. market from 42 percent to 43 percent, growing from $22.7 billion to $32.5 billion by 2010.
Casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., are expected to see revenue inch higher from $5 billion to $5.8 billion, as its share falls from 9 percent to 7 percent of the U.S. market because of competition from new slot machine operators in surrounding areas.
This article is inaccurate, because what it calls “gambling” revenues are actually “casino revenues.” Small point, but this isn’t factoring in lotteries, pari-mutuel, or sportsbetting. I think actual total global GAMBLING revenues (i.e., everything) are in the neighborhood of $1 trillion/year.