All eight regions of the National Indian Gaming Commission reported gross revenue growth of more than 2.4% in 2023.
That bump equated to about a $1 billion increase, boosting the NIGC total to a record $41.9 billion for 2023. The report accumulates financial statements from 527 operators and 245 tribes in 29 states.
The NIGC doesn’t disclose figures for specific tribes. So, the exact contributions of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which possesses a virtual monopoly on gambling in the state, remain shrouded.
The tribe:
- Owns the Hard Rock hospitality brand
- Operates six casinos and
- Controls mobile and retail sports betting in the state of about 22 million.
An Eilers & Krejcik Gaming report suggests the Seminoles will continue to dominate the tribal gambling sector. The firm also projects the tribe may overtake BetMGM as the fourth-highest sports betting operator in terms of market share by this year.
EKG pegs Hard Rock Bet, which is live in seven states or jurisdictions, with a 5% market share, just one percentage point behind BetMGM, which takes bets in 23 localities. The group also recently projected a potential Hard Rock online casino monopoly in Florida as worth nearly $2.5 billion in gross gaming revenue at maturity. That figure – which excludes online poker – would make Hard Rock the US market share leader.
Inside NIGC 2023 Gambling Revenue:
NIGC groups gambling operations into districts, with the Seminoles’ Hard Rock empire folded into the “DC” group. The region includes Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, and North Carolina as well.
According to the report, DC generated $9.19 billion in revenue in 2023, matching the national bump at 2.4%. Tribes doing business under the auspices of compacts with states do not release revenue figures. A 2016 deposition revealed that the Seminole Tribe earned $2.2 billion from its gambling operation. There are 16 Hard Rock casinos open —or ready to debut — in the US. Legal sports betting resumed in Florida in December of 2023. Only revenue generated from the Seminoles’ six Florida venues and from sports betting counted toward the tribal total.
Other regions’ performance:
The proof of tribal gambling power has been marked by dominance in two of the most populous US states. The Seminoles have weathered numerous state and federal challenges to their paradigm-shifting new market and more than 100 tribes in California underscored their might in 2022 and 2024 by helping defeat measures to allow outside operators to offer mobile sports betting.
With Hard Rock Bet taking state-wide mobile sports bets using servers on tribal land, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has been elasticized for a modern gambling landscape.
“This year’s GGR results demonstrate how a strong regulatory framework and diversity of tribal-gaming enterprises generate growth in the industry,” Sharon Avery, the acting chair of the NIGC said in a statement.
“Again this year, tribal-gaming operators and regulators have proven that their ingenuity and tenacity are catalysts for growth, even in the face of an ever-changing gaming landscape,” she continued. “This steadfastness will ensure that tribal gaming remains a valuable resource for continued economic sustainability in tribal communities.”