US gambling revenues up 5.3 percent | IXGAMES
Americans spent more money gambling in 2007 than on movie ‘tickets’ or ‘candy’, but the steady growth of commercial casinos in the past decade could take a hit next year because of a slumping economy and setbacks in building new places to play. A survey released Wednesday by the American Gaming Association showed that U.S. commercial casino revenues were up 5.3 percent to $34.1 billion in 2007. Citing numbers from the National Confectioners Association and the Motion Picture Association of America, the survey said Americans spent $29 billion on candy and $9.6 billion on movie tickets in 2007. (But casino jobs were down 2.3 percent, with casinos in Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois cutting jobs, according to the study). Revenues jumped ahead at the 41 racetrack casinos across 11 states, which reported $5.3 billion in gambling revenue in 2007, up 46 percent from $3.6 billion the previous year, according to the study. Employment at those properties rose 22 percent. 
The American Gaming Association survey collected data from state regulatory agencies on 467 commercial casinos in 12 states. It did not attempt to track results at casinos run by American Indian tribes.