Las Vegas visitor numbers at a near 18-month high; Ontario launches online gambling self-exclusion platform; Bragg Gaming agrees transformational deal to acquire Drayton International; plus the week’s other news from North America.
Las Vegas visitor numbers at a near 18-month high
Las Vegas visitor numbers grew by just 2 per cent in March, but it took the total to its highest level since October 2024.
There were 3.45 million visitors to Las Vegas in March and took the quarterly total to 9.74 million.
The occupancy rate was also at its best since October 2024 at 84.8 per cent, versus 82.9 per cent in the previous year.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, Las Vegas had seen a 13-month streak of year-on-year falls in visitors.
But February and now March have seen increases. Could Las Vegas have turned a corner?
New York
Mobile sports wagers in New York increased by just 1 per cent in April to $2.17 billion. FanDuel remained the leading brand on wagers of $771.6 million and DraftKings was in second place on $732.3 million, with both showing little or no growth year-on-year. Fanatics was the biggest winner as wagers rose 49 per cent to $262.0 million. The state’s leading three mobile betting brands held 82 per cent of the market in April.
New York’s gaming machines won $208.8 million in April, which was a 1 per cent fall on the same month last year. Empire City Casino became the market leader for gaming machines with a 6 per cent rise to $55.5 million. Resorts World New York City was in second place despite revenue falling 8 per cent to $52.9 million, ahead of Jake’s 58’s $27.2 million.
Michigan
Gaming revenue at Michigan’s three commercial casinos climbed to a two-year high of $118.9 million in April, up by 8 per cent. The monthly total comprised $118.0 million in slot machines and gaming table revenue, up 8 per cent, with a further $837,397 from retail sports betting, which soared 165 per cent. MGM Grand Detroit was the leading casino on revenue of $58.5 million, well ahead of MotorCity Casino’s $34.4 million.
Indiana
Indiana’s sports wagers rose 12 per cent in April to $491.4 million, buoyed by a 13 per cent increase in mobile betting to $482.6 million, which offset a 13 per cent drop in retail wagers to $8.7 million. Betting on basketball was up by 11 per cent to $127.8 million, and Baseball wagers rose by the same percentage to $78.4 million.
Iowa
Iowa’s sports bets fell by 2 per cent in April to $210.5 million, with online and retail sports handle both recording falls. Online sports betting dropped by 1 per cent to $201.2 million and retail betting was 21 per cent lower at $9.3 million. A strong margin improvement from 8.7 per cent to 10.4 per cent meant that sports betting win increased by 17 per cent to $21.9 million, split $20.8 million from online and $1.0 million from the retail sector.
Gaming revenue at Iowa’s 19 land-based casinos increased by 4 per cent to $146.3 million in April. There was a 4 per cent rise in both table gaming and slot machine revenue to $13.8 million and $132.5 million respectively. Prairie Meadows Casino was the leading casino with revenue of $20.7 million, ahead of Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs’ $14.4 million and Ameristar II’s $13.9 million.
Illinois
Illinois’ 17 land-based casinos saw gaming revenue grow by 11 per cent in April to $181.0 million, with rises in both slots and table games. Slot machine revenue increased by 14 per cent to $138.7 million and revenue from gaming tables gained 4 per cent to $42.3 million. Rivers Casino was the top casino on revenue of $46.2 million, ahead of Wind Creek’s $19.5 million and Hard Rock Casino Rockford’s $13.6 million.
Missouri
Missouri’s casinos won revenue of $170.9 million in April but this was a rise of just 1 per cent year-on-year. Slot machine revenue grew by 5 per cent to $147.6 million and made up for an 18 per cent decline in table gaming revenue to $23.3 million. Ameristar St Charles led the market on revenue of $26.1 million, while River City closed the gap with a 4 per cent increase in revenue to $23.4 million. Hollywood St Louis’s revenue was up by 3 per cent to $22.4 million in third place.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s sports wagers climbed by 6 per cent in April to $612.5 million, including $18.0 million in promotional bets. Promotional betting was up by 16 per cent and real-money wagers grew by 6 per cent to $594.5 million. A good margin of 10.5 per cent meant that gross revenue increased by 38 per cent to $64.5 million.
Ohio
Back into March, sports wagers in Ohio fell by 3 per cent to $963.0 million, as both retail and online wagering declined. Online betting was down by 2 per cent to $950.2 million and the state’s smaller retail betting sector dropped by 33 per cent to $12.8 million. Despite the wagering decline, sports revenue increased by 32 per cent to $87.9 million, as the margin improved from 6.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent.
In the state’s land-based sector, Ohio’s four casinos won revenue of $94.9 million in March, an improvement of less than 1 per cent on the same month last year. Revenue from slot machines rose by 1 per cent to $69.6 million, while gaming tables revenue fell by 1 per cent to $25.3 million. Hollywood Columbus was the leading casino by revenue on $27.2 million, ahead of Jack Cleveland’s $23.5 million and Hollywood Toledo’s $22.3 million.
Colorado
Sports wagers in Colorado was down 9 per cent year in March at $560.9 million, but an improved margin pushed revenue up over 40 per cent. Online sports betting was down by 9 per cent to $558.3 million and retail betting had an even greater drop of 26 per cent to $2.6 million. Despite this, sports betting revenue climbed by 41 per cent to $51.1 million, including a 41 per cent rise in online betting revenue to $50.8 million.
Arizona
Sports wagers in Arizona fell by 5 per cent to $836.9 million in March, as mobile betting slipped by 5 per cent to $833.7 million and retail betting fell even more sharply by 44 per cent to $3.1 million. Despite the wagering decline, gross win from sports betting grew by 45 per cent to $72.9 million, including $72.5 million from online betting.
Illinois
Illinois’ video lottery terminal (VLT) revenue increased by 5 per cent to $302.8 million in March. Total wagering on the 49,340 VLTs in operation climbed 3 per cent to $3.27 billion, while the average monthly win per VLT was up 4 per cent to $6,136, at a margin of 9.3 per cent.
PointsBet Holdings reported a 1 per cent drop in revenue to A$186.6 million for the nine-month period ended 31 March 2026, including revenue of $34.6 million from Canada.
Strong growth in online gaming helped Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority increase net revenue by 2.4 per cent to $428.97 million in the fiscal second quarter ended 31 March.
Pollard Banknote posted a 3 per cent drop in revenue to CA$141.7 million for the first quarter, due to a lower instant ticket average selling price and currency exchange impacts.
Gambling.com Group reported a net loss of $1.18 million for the first quarter, on flat revenue of $40.4 million.
Brightstar Lottery benefited from currency exchange gains to grow revenue by 1 per cent to $587 million in the first quarter of the year.
Bragg Gaming Group reported a marginal 0.6 per cent increase in revenue to €25.7 million for the first quarter, driven by a strong performance in Brazil and growth in the Netherlands.
Super Group reported an 18 per cent increase in total revenue to $612 million for the first quarter, including iGaming revenue of $489 million.
Century Casinos grew total net revenue by 5 per cent to $137.24 million in the first quarter, including revenue growth of 11 per cent in Canada.
Aristocrat Leisure reported an improved profit for the first half of FY26, despite a 0.2 per cent decline in revenue to A$3.028 billion.
Konami Group Corp. posted a 17 per cent improvement in revenue to ¥493.68 billion (approx. US$3.14 billion) for its fiscal year ended 31 March, although its gaming and systems segment had growth of just 1 per cent.
Sega Sammy Holdings recorded a 14 per cent increase in net sales to ¥487.54 billion (approx. €2.64 billion) for its fiscal year ended 31 March.
Catena Media grew revenue from continuing operations by 26 per cent to €12.3 million in the first quarter, including revenue of €11.7 million from North America.
iGaming Ontario has introduced a new centralized self-exclusion register covering all online gambling platforms in the Canadian province.
The Rhode Island Lottery has issued a license to Bally’s, making it the second licensed online sports betting operator in the state.
Colorado lawmakers have sent a sweeping sports betting reform package to Governor Jared Polis after both chambers approved a final version of Senate Bill 131 during the closing days of the 2026 legislative session.
Bragg Gaming has entered into a deal to acquire Drayton International, which holds equity interests in five game development studios including Boomerang Studios.
Kalshi has been named as the first official prediction market partner of Madison Square Garden (MSG), the multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City.
Scientific Games has appointed KPMG executive Ray Anderson as interim chief financial officer.
Polymarket has been named as the exclusive prediction market partner of Italian football league Serie A in the United States.
The state of Minnesota is one signature away from becoming the first US state to explicitly ban certain prediction market event contracts.
Ainsworth Game Technology has named Ryan Comstock as permanent CEO, having served as acting CEO since the resignation of Harald Neumann last October.
Brightstar Lottery has agreed multi-year extensions to continue long-standing partnerships with the national lottery operators in Slovakia and Mauritius.
The New York Lottery reported a 2 per cent fall in sales for the five-week period ended May 2 to $741.8 million, with Powerball the best performing game.
Four New Mexico tribal nations have filed a complaint against Kalshi in the state’s district court, accusing the prediction market platform of illegal sports betting on tribal land.
Bragg Gaming is set to appoint seasoned gaming industry executive Matt Davey as its new chairman, as the company executes its next phase of growth.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has rejected Senate Bill 1589, legislation that would have banned sweepstakes-style online gaming platforms.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has lauded its success against sweepstakes in 2025 as it targets similar results with prediction markets in 2026.
Scientific Games has completed the upgrade of the New Mexico Lottery’s draw-based and instant game sales, simplifying product management for retailers and enhancing the player experience.
This week’s games and platform integrations round-up from Gaming Intelligence features Evolution’s Nolimit City, Play’n GO, PopOK Gaming, Playtech’s Origins, Pragmatic Play, WorldMatch and 1spin4win.
The legal battle over prediction markets could be heading for the US Supreme Court, according to the vice president of legal and head of litigation at Coinbase, Ryan VanGrack.
Imagine Live has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Nadiya Attard as chief commercial officer (CCO).
A growing number of US states and sportsbooks are moving to remove credit cards as a funding option for online betting accounts amid regulators’ intensifying scrutiny of responsible gambling measures.
Jackpot Digital has agreed a deal to roll out its dealerless electronic poker table games at Gila River’s four casinos in Arizona.