IGT Records Revenue Growth, Net Profit Decreases

One of the leading companies in the industry, International Game Technology (IGT), published its financial report, which demonstrated a net profit decrease compared to 2023. However, the revenue was $4.31 billion (£3.37bn/€3.94bn), which represents a growth of 2.0%, following a recorded $4.23 billion in 2023.

Successful year and plans for 2024

net_profit_dips_despite_revenue_growth_at_igt_in_2023_ (1)Global Gaming and PlayDigital businesses were major reasons for the increase in revenue, while Global Lottery’s results dropped down. However, the lottery business performed better in Q4 than was the case during the whole year, following the success of other departments.

Vince Sadusky, the company’s CEO, commented: “We delivered a strong finish to the year in the fourth quarter, propelling full-year 2023 profits to record levels. A compelling array of products and solutions fuelled broad-based momentum in key performance indicators, driving margin improvement across our Global Lottery, Global Gaming, and PlayDigital segments.”

IGT conducted a restructure in February when Global Gaming and PlayDigital merged with another industry giant, Everi. The operations in total cost $6.20bn. IGT will own a majority of shares, 54%, while Everi will possess 46%. The merger is expected to be finished by the end of 2024 or at the beginning of 2025 when Everi will be renamed.

Sadusky said: “We believe the recent determination to split the business and create separate lottery and gaming pure-play companies, each with experienced management teams and simplified business models, better positions each company to service customers and create significant value for stakeholders.”

Revenue growth

In the past year, IGT’s revenue grew. Product sales revenue was incredibly high – $963 million, which is 11.2% higher than in 2022. However, service revenue decreased by 0.4%, so the company generated $3.35 billion.

Global Lottery was the main source of revenue in 2023, even though the decrease is noticed since it generated $2.53 billion in revenue in 2023. As the main reason for this drop, the company listed a sale of a commercial services business in Italy. If it remained part of the company, a growth of 6% would be recorded.

Global Gaming also achieved significant growth since its operations increased by 9.1% to $1.55 billion. PlayDigital’s revenue also increased by 9.1% to $228 million, which broke the record when it came to this division.

The operations cost $3.31 billion, and services were $1.63 billion. However, non-operating costs increased to $372 million, which is 11.7% higher than in 2023. This means that the profit before paying taxes was $629 million, which represents a 6.8% increase compared to the year before. The company paid $322 million for taxes and $151 million for non-controlling interests, so the net profit was $156 million, which is $156 million lower than in 2022 when the profit was $275 million, so a decrease of 43.3% is recorded. But despite that, adjusted EBITDA was $1.78 billion, which is an increase of 6.9%, and hit the record when it comes to this figure.

Max Chiara, the company’s CFO, said: “We achieved all of our financial goals in 2023. Robust cash generation funded incremental investments in the business and shareholder returns, while driving leverage to historically low levels, putting IGT in a strong financial position as we enter 2024. This gives us confidence in further expanding our investment in the business to fund future growth.”

Source: Fletcher, Robert. “Net profit dips despite revenue growth at IGT in 2023”. iGaming Business. March 12, 2024.

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Indiana iGaming Revenue Could Exceed 2 Billion Dollars Within Three Years

A report commissioned by the Indiana Gaming Commission and conducted by Spectrum Group has found that the iGaming industry in the state could be able to generate revenue of up to 2.1 billion dollars over the first three years after legalization.

The report’s detailed prediction was that the iGaming sector could bring in between 1.9 and 2.1 billion dollars in revenue. This prediction is 5 percent more optimistic than what was revealed in the 2022 report.

The study has also pointed out that iGaming tax revenue over the first three years following legalization could amount to 929 million dollars for the state of Indiana. That prediction also represents a 5 percent increase on the estimations of the previous report.

The introduction of legal online gambling has been discussed for a long time in Indiana, with opponents claiming that online casinos would affect the activity of the long-standing land-based casinos in the state. However, the report claims that iGaming did not have a negative impact on other forms of gaming in other American states where it was introduced.

Despite the data provided in the report, chances for the legalization of online gambling in Indiana appear slim in 2024 because state legislators have agreed not to bring in any new proposals to this respect this year.

Lacking iGaming Legislation

The online sports betting industry has grown at a fast pace during the past few years in the United States, with online sportsbooks now legal in nearly half of the American states. However, iGaming has not been accepted on such a large scale, currently online gambling is legal in just seven states.

The lack of legislation for iGaming has prompted a major player such as WynnBet to close its operations in a number of states in August 2023. That left the major casino operator with activities just in Nevada in Massachusetts, where it owns land-based properties.

The chances of iGaming being introduced in New York also appear unlikely in 2024 after Governor Kathy Hochul has not introduced online gaming in the executive budget for 2025. However, state senator Joseph Addabbo did file a revised iGaming bill last week.

The example of the states that have introduced legal online gambling does provide some interesting data, though. Pennsylvania, for example, saw iGaming help its industry to reach a new gambling revenue record in 2023, a total amount of 5.7 billion dollars.

The iGaming sector attracted gross revenue of 1.5 billion dollars across the United States in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 26 percent year-on-year and an all-time record for a single quarter.

Source: “Report finds Indiana igaming revenue could exceed $2bn within three years“. iGaming Business. January 19, 2024.

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Pennsylvania Gaming Industry Reports Best Year Ever, 2023 Revenue Nearly $5.7B

Add Pennsylvania to the list of states calling 2023 their best year ever in terms of gaming. Joining New Jersey, which earlier this week announced record annual revenue, Pennsylvania on Thursday revealed that 2023 was a banner year for its gaming industry.

Pennsylvania gaming revenue casinos
Parx Casino was the top-grossing property in the Pennsylvania gaming industry in 2023. The year was a banner performance for the state industry, as revenue reached nearly $5.7 billion. (Image: Parx Casino)

Pennsylvania has brick-and-mortar casinos, iGaming, in-person and online sports betting, truck stop video gaming terminals, and fantasy sports. In 2023, the varying gaming interests combined to win a record $5.697 billion. The 2023 win represents a 9.3% year-over-year increase.

The year-end report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed that iGaming, consisting of online slot machines and table games, was primarily responsible for the record performance. Internet gamblers lost $1.74 billion, 28% more than they did in 2022.

Physical slot machines inside the state’s 17 casinos also fared well, as the terminals generated record gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $2.46 billion, a 3% improvement. Oddsmakers saw their sports betting hold climb more than 14% to a record $458.6 million.

The other verticals experienced slight year-over-year declines. Casino table game win dropped 2% to $990.5 million. VGT revenue fell 2% to $42 million, and revenue from fantasy sports contests slowed by 10% to $20 million.

iGaming Surging

iGaming in the six states where online casinos are legal continues to thrive. The $1.74 billion won by the online channels last year continued the sector’s impressive run.

Pennsylvania legalized iGaming through the state’s 2017 gaming expansion package. Online operations didn’t go live until late 2019.

iGaming’s first full year in Pennsylvania in 2020 came at a most suitable time. As the state ordered its physical casinos to shutter amid the pandemic, online casinos were open for play. iGaming platforms won more than $565.7 million that year.

Pennsylvania online casinos have only furthered their growth since. iGaming GGR in 2021 topped $1.11 billion, and ballooned to $1.36 billion in 2022.

The state’s land-based casinos have managed to increase their revenues despite iGaming’s significant revenue increases.

Retail slots and tables won $3.43 billion last year, a 1.6% year-over-year increase. The 2023 casino win also represents a 7% surge on 2021 GGR, but was only 5% richer than pre-pandemic 2019.

While brick-and-mortar casinos in iGaming states have managed to increase their year-over-year GGRs, analysts have expressed concerns that the online games could be slowing more robust brick-and-mortar growth.

Parx Leads

Parx Casino north of Philadelphia was the top-grossing casino in the commonwealth last year. The property won $386.2 million on its slots and $202 million on its tables for a combined haul of $588.2 million.

Parx and its sister casino, Parx Casino Shippensburg, are the only smoke-free casinos in the state.

Wind Creek Bethlehem placed second with GGR of $526.3 million, with slots accounting for $285 million and tables for $241.3 million.

As for iGaming, Penn Entertainment’s Hollywood Casino online brand led the way with revenue of $712.4 million. Penn held an impressive 41% market share of the iGaming industry. There are 12 online casino operators.

Pennsylvania Loses to New Jersey

Nevada and New Jersey had long been the country’s two richest gaming states until 2022 when Pennsylvania squeaked by the Garden State for second place. Pennsylvania’s 2022 GGR of $5,211,274,456 edged New Jersey by just $28,735.

New Jersey regained the second spot in 2023 after reporting GGR of more than $5.77 billion. Nevada hasn’t yet revealed its December numbers, but through November, the state’s casinos won more than $14 billion.

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Bally’s Chicago Underwhelms, Falls Far Short of Revenue Projections

Bally’s Chicago, located inside the historic Medinah Temple, is on damage control. That’s after the temporary casino failed to come anywhere near its preopening revenue projections.

Bally's Chicago gaming revenue
There was much fanfare when Bally’s opened its temporary casino in Chicago last September. However, after nearly four months in operation, the casino has failed to realize preopening gaming revenue forecasts. (Image: Getty)

Bally’s Chicago opened on September 9 with 800 slot machines and 56 live dealer table games. The temporary 34,000-square-foot gaming facility is supposed to help bankroll the Rhode Island-based gaming operator’s construction of its permanent $1.7 billion resort casino at the Freedom Center.

The temporary casino was authorized by state and city officials also in part to immediately inject gaming tax money into Chicago’s nearly insolvent police and firefighter pension fund.

When then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) approved the Bally’s bid, her office projected that the temporary casino would generate approximately $12.8 million in gaming tax proceeds for the city in 2023. The tax projection assumed Bally’s would win $102.5 million in 2023, with $61.5 million from slots, $40 million from tables, and $1 million from sports betting.

Per revenue reports released by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) on Wednesday, Bally’s Chicago is revealed to be severely underperforming.

Lackluster Start

According to the IGB, Bally’s Chicago generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) between September through December of just $30.4 million, a far cry from Lightfoot’s $102.5 million projection. The city’s gaming tax share amounted to a little more than $3.1 million — $9.7 million less than forecast.

Bally’s Chicago officials say unease is unwarranted. The temporary casino opened later than expected because of regulatory delays, they claim, and the property is still ramping up its marketing efforts to become part of the Windy City landscape.

Bally’s continues to build its relationship with Chicago gaming customers by offering our guests new and convenient ways to visit the property,” said Bally’s Chicago General Manager Mark Wong. “We’ve added free parking, new promotions, and expanded hours to meet customers’ expectations.”

Those efforts, which additionally include a controversial shuttle service between the casino and Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood, resulted in the casino experiencing its best month to date in December. It counted nearly 100K admissions during the 31 days, and won more than $8.5 million from gamblers. The daily average of roughly 3,220 visitors represents a considerable uptick on the 2,681 daily patrons the casino reported in October, its first full month in business.

Bally’s last year delivered Chicago a one-time upfront payment of $40 million to secure the city’s integrated resort license. Those funds provided an immediate pension benefit for the first responders.

Lofty Projections

Despite December being a strong month for Bally’s Chicago, the temporary facility has lofty revenue targets in the years ahead.

In 2024, city officials expect the casino to win $242.7 million and deliver the city $34.4 million in gaming taxes. The revenue projection grows to $253.6 million in 2025, and to $638.6 million in 2026, when the permanent resort is expected to open.

There are many concerns about whether Bally’s has the financial wherewithal to bring the $1.7 billion project to reality. Bally’s is also reportedly facing a federal investigation into how it beat out other casino bidders for the Chicago gaming license.

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Michigan iGaming Operators Report Record-Breaking November Revenue

The Michigan Gaming Control Board, the regulator in charge of the gambling and sports betting market in the American state, reported that the licensed operators it oversees managed to generate solid revenue in November 2023.

According to the state regulators, commercial and tribal operators in the Great Lakes state reported a total of 209.2 million dollars in revenue (gross receipts and gross sports betting receipts) in November. The result marks an increase of 1.9 percent compared to October 2023.

The iGaming sector was the one that caught the eye with gross receipts of 175.3 million dollars, the highest number to date. The previous record was 171.8 million dollars and it was recorded in March 2023. In October 2023 gross receipts from online casinos amounted to 160.3 million dollars.

Gross sports betting receipts for November 2023 amounted to 33.9 million dollars, a sharp decrease from the 45 million dollars that were generated by this sector in October 2023.

Combined total adjusted gross receipts for November were 158.1 million dollars, with almost the entire sum coming from iGaming: 157.8 million dollars, while sports betting only accounted for 294,810 dollars. The adjusted gross receipts figures show an increase of 9.4 percent for iGaming and a drastic decrease of 98.7 percent for online sports betting compared to October 2023.

Tens of Millions of Dollars in Taxes

The total sports betting handle for online operators amounted to 568.8 million dollars in November, an increase of 6.7 percent compared to October 2023 and also the highest online sports betting handle to date in the state of Michigan.

Licensed operators in the state submitted 33.6 million dollars in taxes and payments to the State of Michigan during November, with most of the sum (32.9 million dollars) coming from internet gaming taxes and fees. Internet sports betting taxes and fees amounted to 740,056 dollars in the month of November, while the three land-based casinos in Detroit paid the city 8.4 million dollars in wagering taxes and municipal services fees during November. Tribal operators also reported making payments worth 4.1 million dollars to governing bodies in November.

At the end of November 2023 there were a total of 15 commercial and tribal operators operating in Michigan in iGaming and/or online sports betting. Fourteen of these operators were active in internet sports betting while fifteen were offering iGaming services.

Source: “Michigan iGaming, sports betting operators report $209.2M in November revenue“. Michigan Gaming Control Board. December 19, 2023.

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