US gaming revenue declined 0.6% year over year in August 2026, reaching $6.48 billion as a sharp drop in sports betting offset growth in traditional casinos and online gaming, according to the American Gaming Association. The figures, published in the association’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker, show diverging performance across the country’s major regulated gambling sectors. While land-based casinos and internet casinos recorded increases, sportsbooks experienced a substantial decline in revenue.
Traditional casino gaming generated $4.44 billion in August, an increase of 0.9% compared with the same month in 2025. Slot machines accounted for $3.25 billion, up 1%, while table games produced $885.91 million, representing growth of 2.1%. The AGA attributed part of the increase in table game revenue to the recent expansion of Resorts World New York City. The results indicate that traditional casino operations continued to provide stability as other parts of the gambling market faced weaker monthly performance.
Sports betting was the main contributor to the overall decline in US gaming revenue. Sportsbooks generated $1 billion during August, down 15.6% from a year earlier. The total amount wagered reached $10.89 billion, representing a comparatively modest 0.7% decrease. The difference between betting activity and sportsbook revenue was partly explained by a lower hold rate, which measures the share of wagers retained by operators as revenue. The rate fell to 9.2% in August from 10.8% a year earlier.
The AGA also identified competition from prediction markets and the later start of the college football season as factors affecting sports betting activity. Excluding June and July, when the FIFA World Cup supported wagering, betting handle had declined year over year since December 2025. Online casino gaming continued to expand, providing a counterweight to the sportsbook downturn. iGaming revenue increased 12.3% to $1.03 billion in August. However, the association said growth was moderating in the absence of newly launched markets.
The monthly figures also showed a decline in tax collections generated by regulated gambling. State gaming tax revenue reached $1.46 billion, down 1.5% from August 2025. Sports betting tax revenue fell 14%. The AGA argued that skill-machine operators, sweepstakes casinos and platforms offering illegal sports betting through prediction markets were affecting state tax collections because they do not pay the same gaming taxes as regulated operators.
According to the association, prediction market platforms offering sports-related contracts have cost state governments an estimated $1.56 billion in potential gaming tax revenue since the beginning of 2025. The August results highlight the uneven performance of the US gambling industry, with traditional casinos and online gaming continuing to grow while sports betting revenue contracts. Future results will help determine whether the decline in US gaming revenue represents a temporary fluctuation or a more sustained shift across the market.