Nevada Casinos Set Another Annual Record, Gaming Win Climbs to $15.6B in 2024

Nevada casinos experienced record action from gamblers for the fourth consecutive year.

The iconic Bellagio Fountains and the Las Vegas Strip are seen at night on May 10, 2024. Nevada casinos reported record revenue from gamblers for the fourth year in a row. (Image: Shutterstock)

On Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) released its December and full-year 2024 revenue report. The state’s casinos and licensed gaming facilities capped off the year strong, as December win came in at nearly $1.5 billion. December also ended a two-month year-over-year losing streak.

The $1.46 billion in December gross gaming revenue (GGR) marked a 2% year-over-year increase. December also helped move statewide win north of $15.6 billion for the year, a 0.5% improvement from 2023.

2024 marked the fourth consecutive year where Nevada casinos reached a new yearly gaming revenue high. Different for 2024 was that markets off of the Las Vegas Strip were chiefly responsible for the continued gains.

Unlike 2023, the driving force behind this year’s record gaming win totals was not the Las Vegas Strip. In fact, when excluding the Strip from this year’s totals, statewide total win increased 2.6 percent, or $173.2 million,” said Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s senior economic analyst.

“During calendar year 2023, the Strip accounted for 90.2% of the $678.4 million growth over calendar year 2022. Although the Strip was unable to grow off of calendar year 2023’s baccarat-driven record total, the market only decreased 1%, or $88.5 million, and set new records for slot win and volume,” Lawton added. 

Slots Save 2024

Nevada slot machines accounted for $10.5 billion of the state’s $15.6 billion GGR haul in  2024. Revenue from the one-armed bandits expanded by about 2.3%.

It was a different story on the felt, as table game revenue slid almost 3% to shy of $5.1 billion. Baccarat was to blame, as the game popular with Asian and high-roller European players, saw win contract over 13% to $1.4 billion. A toned-down F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November didn’t help.

Roulette win was also down about 4% to $440 million. Craps was too, with the dice game winning $450.7 million, a 3.6% reduction.

Positives came via blackjack, with 21 seeing revenue climb 1% to $1.3 billion. Revenue from ultimate Texas Hold’em was another bright spot, with the game winning $207.5 million, or 10% higher than in 2023.

Nevada Cities Experience Record Play

Though the Las Vegas Strip experienced a slight setback in terms of GGR in 2024, several other metered markets reported unprecedented play. The NGCB filing shows that in addition to the state as a whole, Clark County, downtown Las Vegas, Mesquite, and Carson Valley each set all-time GGR highs.

Clark County, home to Las Vegas, reported GGR of more than $13.56 billion, a 0.6% gain on 2023. Downtown Las Vegas revenue climbed over 2% to a record $931.26 million, while GGR in Mesquite was up 3% to an all-time high of $189 million. Carson Valley casinos improved annual win by 1.2% to nearly $135.8 million.

Football Betting Winning Streak Punted

December 2024 was notable for oddsmakers in that the month marked the industry’s first losing month on football in more than a decade. The NGCB reveals that oddsmakers lost more than $2 million on football, as many NFL and college games went the public’s way.

December marked the first time that Nevada oddsmakers incurred a monthly loss on football since November 2012 — a string of 145 months with the house coming out on top. Despite the pigskin losses, Nevada sports betting revenue was still in the black, as oddsmakers won about $15 million.

With favorites predominantly prevailing during the NFL Playoffs, January could also be a difficult month for the books.  

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