The Slot Machines Revenue Stats

Many people speculate if the perceived societal ills that accompany slot machines and gambling are worth the revenue they bring in—and the answer is: yes, in most cases the slot machines money makes a substantial difference in the funding for state programs and the revenue brought into the towns around slot machines. Slot machines are definitely important in bringing in state revenue (they are the cash cows of the gambling industry), but states that do not allow Class III slot machines still bring in millions in revenue from other types of gambling.

The commercial gambling industry in the United States brought in $5 billion in revenue in 2005. And this number just refers to commercial gambling, that leaves out: state lotteries, slot machines, and the casinos located on Indian reservations. State lotteries pull in a huge $16 billion while slot machines coming in at around $1 billion (due to the fact that slot machines are not legal in every state whereas state lotteries exist in the majority of the 50 states.

Every year it seems the states are bringing in more forms of gambling—for Alabama, they just voted to legalize bingo machines. And Florida chose to bring in the Class III Vegas-style slot machines to one county in the state. For Pennsylvania, 2007 means thousands of the previously legalized slot machines will enter the state.

Back to February News>>>

Back to Recent News>>>