Nevada’s December Gambling Revenues In, Calendar Year 2024 Picture Revealed


The casinos of Nevada made $1.46 billion in revenue in December 2024, according to the latest monthly revenue release from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. That is 2% up on December 2023. It marks a return to growth after three months of year-on-year revenue declines.

It also marks a close year of growth in the calendar year 2024, bringing the total revenue up to $15.6 billion for the year. That’s 0.5% up on 2023’s revenues. However, the 24/25 fiscal year revenues are, so far, down 1.98% on 2023/24. 

Although the casino business eked out some calendar year growth, it was also the slowest rate of growth since 2021. Interestingly, the main revenue drivers, the Las Vegas Strip casino resorts, saw their income fall 1% percent in 2024, despite the state’s overall market growing. That is a rare divergence that hasn’t happened in decades. 

From the $1.46 billion in revenue generated by gambling operators in December, the Silver State taxman collected $90.5 million for the month. That’s up 6.6% compared to December 2023. However, total calendar year tax 2024 tax revenues were down 0.86%. 

December Breakdown

December 2023 was a rare month in which the main revenue driver of the state’s gambling business, the Las Vegas Strip, saw income fall. But the rest of the state mostly grew. 

Gambling win at the Sin City tourist corridor’s mega resorts was $881.2 million. That’s a fall of 2.6% compared to December 2023, when revenues hit $905.3 million. Slot machine revenue grew 11% year-on-year to $495 million, but that was not enough to offset the 15% decline in table game revenue, principally high limit baccarat.

On the other hand, almost everywhere else in Las Vegas’ Clark County saw gambling income up on December 2023. The biggest winner was the Boulder Strip corridor of casinos in East Las Vegas, which saw its revenues up 26.9% compared to December of last year. 

Downtown Las Vegas also did well in December 2024, growing 8.36% to $82 million for the month. That haul finished its full calendar year, resulting in a total growth of 3.73%. 

Outside of Clark County, in the rest of Nevada, the casinos of Reno and South Lake Tahoe also saw strong growth in December. However, only the former saw revenues grow over the year (1.1%), while the latter saw its casinos’ income fall 1.37% across 2024. 

The month was also a bad one for Nevada’s sportsbooks. After bettors pummeled the sportsbooks to a record low win percentage nationally in November, in December in Nevada the house actually fully lost out on football betting. After all the bets were settled, Nevadans were paid out $2 million more than they wagered on the NFL in December. It was the first monthly loss for Nevada’s sportsbooks in 12 years.

Yearly Analysis 

Looking at the bigger picture, Nevada’s gambling business has grown 30% since 2019, the last full year before the pandemic closed casinos for the best part of a year. That illustrates the strong rebound effect on visitation and spending since then. 

The calendar year 2024 saw two giant Las Vegas casino resorts close for the final time. Both the shuttering of the Tropicana Las Vegas in early April, and then the Mirage Las Vegas in July, would have impacted peak revenues due to lower supply. 

That was offset by the late 2023 opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas and the Durango Casino Resort in the Sin City suburb of Henderson. The two casino resorts (eventually) saw consistent growth in the following year, and are now undergoing expansions.  

The slight decline in tax income for Nevada over the calendar year could be partly attributed to the drop in revenues in sports betting towards the end of the year. A high rate of favorite wins across the NFL season saw a significant amount of bettors beat the books on high payout parlay bets.

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