Boosted by online gambling and expanded sports betting, the U.S. gaming industry grew for the fourth straight year in 2024, with $71.9 billion in revenue, a recent report from LVRJ noted. Additionally, the Las Vegas Strip remained the largest American gaming market, the American Gaming Association noted in a recent report from mid-February. However, in a 25-minute state-of-the-gaming-industry webinar, the AGA warned that the rate of growth is declining, and the Strip saw revenue drop 4.4 percent from 2023. Bill Miller, president and CEO of the trade group, repeated his call for rooting out illegal and unregulated operators $4.2 billion in gaming revenue and shorted state governments by $13.3 billion in lost tax revenue.
In this article, SBS will go over the latest gaming news coming from Sin City along with some additional thoughts and notes regarding Vegas gaming news and beyond.
Noted in the same report from the RJ, the presentation included a statistical analysis by David Forman, vice president of research for the AGA. “While certain regional markets saw revenue fall in 2024, outside of the Las Vegas Strip, the Nevada markets did quite well,” Forman said. “Downtown Las Vegas is now the 13th largest market in the country, up from 17. The Reno-Sparks area jumped two spots to become the 11th largest market in the country, and the Boulder Strip retained its spot as the 10th largest market.”
Noted above, Miller emphasized the need for the government to crack down on illegal gambling. “We recognized that legal gaming success makes us a target for illegal operators,” Miller said in the Richard Velotta article. “They try to profit off the reputation for the responsibility that we’ve worked so hard to build, exploit consumer confusion between legal and illegal operators, run through regulatory loopholes, and as a result, threaten to undermine public trust in gaming as a whole. And that’s why at the AGA we’re engaging in a constant battle against illegal gambling. We work to ensure policymakers and regulators understand the vast differences in the way we operate, the economic contributions we make, and the communities we support.”
For the first time as well, the AGA also invited two other gaming leaders to participate in the webinar. Jason Giles, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association, and Daron Dorsey, president and CEO of the Association of Gaming Equipment, offered perspectives on their respective specialties.
“In 2024, Indian Gaming generated over $42 billion in gross gaming revenues,” Giles said. “As mandated by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, these revenues are directly returned to our tribal communities and tribal citizens, not investors or shareholders.”
Dorsey also said AGEM is in the process of learning how Donald Trump’s trade and tariff proposals will affect gaming equipment manufacturers. “Just like other industries, our gaming supplier sector is working to understand and manage how trade policies and tariffs will affect us, both in the United States and abroad,” Dorsey said. “A unique aspect of our global gaming supplier sector community is that we deliver gaming products and solutions in all regulated markets around the world. So our products, whether in finished form or in component parts, will cross borders, and in many cases do so many times.”
In other Vegas gaming news, the top-level restructuring of a beleaguered megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip continues with the appointment of another high-ranking casino executive. Earlier this month, Resorts World Las Vegas announced it had appointed Carlos Castro as its new chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Noted in the report from the RJ, Castro’s gaming and hospitality resume includes leadership roles with Hilton Hotels Corp., Caesars Entertainment, and MGM Resorts International, including serving as senior vice president and CFO at Aria for more than five years, Resorts World said in a new release.
In his new role, Castro will “lead the resort’s financial strategy, operational execution, and long-term growth initiatives, ensuring continued success as a premier hospitality and entertainment destination on the Las Vegas Strip,” the release stated. His tenure at the property started earlier this month.
“Resorts World Las Vegas is an incredible property, and I am honored to take on this role,” Castro said in the press release. “I look forward to working with our team to drive financial excellence, enhance our guest experience, and support the continued success of this extraordinary property.”
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About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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