Nevada leads slot win growth in H1 2026; Kalshi powers more Tribal nations; Michigan continues illegal gambling fight as Coinbase exits; Gaming Intelligence Awards | North America 2026 winners revealed; plus the week’s other news from North America.
Nevada leads slot win growth in H1 2026
Across land-based gaming in Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, it was Nevada’s slots which reported the best revenue growth in the first half of 2026.
Nevada’s slot machines won 3.5 per cent more in revenue year-on-year for the first half period.
This growth compared with 1.8 per cent in New Jersey and just 0.7 per cent in Pennsylvania.
The picture was the same for Q2 2026, with Nevada reporting 4.3 per cent slot revenue growth, ahead of New Jersey with 2.8 per cent and 1.3 per cent in Pennsylvania.
Illinois
Illinois’ land-based casinos posted a 13 per cent rise in revenue for September to $178.2 million. Slot machine revenue was up by 12 per cent to $134.6 million and table games revenue grew 14 per cent to $43.6 million. Admissions to the state’s 17 casinos were up by 4 per cent at 1.34 million. Rivers Casino was market leader on revenue of $44.1 million, more than double the revenue won by Wind Creek in second place on $19.9 million.
Oregon
Sports wagers in Oregon fell by 5 per cent in September to $83.1 million, comprising $50.9 million from singles and $32.2 million from parlay bets, down by 6 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. American football accounted for $24.9 million of monthly wagers and baseball $21.7 million. A strong margin of 11.5 per cent (September 2025: 6.9 per cent) meant that monthly gross revenue increased by 60 per cent to $9.6 million.
Montana
The Montana Lottery reported a 25 per cent drop in September’s sports wagers to $5.6 million. American football was the leading sport with wagers of $3.6 million, ahead of baseball on $1.3 million. Monthly gross revenue increased by 11 per cent to $921,929, as the monthly margin rose by 5 percentage points to 16.4 per cent.
Maryland
Maryland’s six land-based casinos saw their combined gaming revenue fall by 4 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, after September’s revenue was flat at $151.4 million. Monthly slot machine revenue rose by 3 per cent to $109.0 million but this growth was reduced by an 8 per cent fall in table gaming win to $42.4 million. MGM National Harbor led the casino sector on revenue of $63.9 million, ahead of Live! Casino’s $54.2 million.
New York
New York’s gaming machine revenue fell by 37 per cent in September to $124.8 million, reflecting Resorts World NYC’s upgrade to a full casino, having previously been the leading gaming machine venue in the state. On a like-for-like basis, revenue from gaming machines increased by 4 per cent year-on-year. Empire City Casino was the top venue with revenue of $48.6 million, ahead of Jake’s 58 Casino’s $25.6 million and Saratoga Casino’s $13.6 million.
West Virginia
Back into August, West Virginia’s combined sports and iGaming wagers grew by 16 per cent to $922.1 million, with double-digit growth in both sectors. Wagering on iGaming increased by 16 per cent to $890.9 million, while sports betting was up 10 per cent at $31.1 million, split $29.0 million from mobile (+16 per cent) and $2.2 million from retail (-33 per cent). Monthly revenue from sports and iGaming increased by 14 per cent to $43.7 million, comprising $40.7 million from iGaming (+22 per cent) and $3.0 million from sports betting (-37 per cent.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s sports wagers grew by 7 per cent to $206.3 million in August but marked the lowest monthly total of 2026 so far. Mobile betting grew by 8 per cent to $203.0 million, which helped to compensate for a 41 per cent decline in retail wagers to $3.3 million. Monthly gross win fell by 20 per cent to $18.0 million, comprising $17.6 million in mobile gross win and $433,549 from retail betting.
Missouri
Missouri’s sportsbooks took total wagers of $207.5 million in August, which was the state’s lowest monthly total since launch. The monthly split of wagering was $204.3 million from mobile and $3.2 million from retail. DraftKings accounted for 41 per cent of the mobile betting market on $83.5 million and was clear of FanDuel in second place on $59.8 million. Monthly gross win from sports betting was $22.7 million, split $22.2 million from mobile betting and $494,765 from retail.
Virginia
In Virginia, sports wagers rose by 4 per cent to $532.3 million in August, split $528.9 million from mobile (+4 per cent) and $3.4 million from retail betting (-14 per cent) at the state’s casinos. The overall betting margin was down from 12.3 per cent to 9.6 per cent in August, and meant that gross win slipped by 18 per cent to $51.3 million.
Nevada
Nevada’s gambling sector posted a 3 per cent increase in gaming revenue for August to $1.27 billion. The state’s casinos had 126,055 slot machines installed and their revenue was up 6 per cent at $865.7 million. Baccarat revenue jumped by 36 per cent to $162.0 million, double the revenue of the next best table game, which was Twenty One on $81.1 million (-23 per cent). Craps had revenue of $39.4 million, up by 5 per cent, while roulette saw a 38 per cent decline to $23.4 million, and sports betting revenue slipped by 23 per cent to $32.6 million.
Ohio
Ohio’s four land-based casinos won a 5 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue for August to $93.9 million. There were 380 table games installed across the state’s casinos, which earned a 4 per cent increase in revenue to $23.9 million. The casinos’ 5,826 slot machines had revenue of $70.0 million, 6 per cent more than in August 2025. Hollywood Columbus led the market with gaming revenue of $29.2 million, ahead of Jack Cleveland’s $22.6 million.
In the state’s video lottery terminals (VLT) sector, the Ohio Lottery reported $129.0 million in revenue for August, a rise of less than 1 per cent. There were 10,250 VLTs installed across seven venues in Ohio during the month and the daily win per machine was $406 (August 2025: $408). Northfield Park Racino led the market with revenue of $30.1 million, ahead of Miami Valley’s $22.9 million and Scioto Downs’ $21.0 million.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s combined sports and iGaming wagers neared $175 million in August, rising by 13 per cent to $174.4 million. A 16 per cent rise in iGaming wagering to $148.4 million helped to make up for a 4 per cent decline in sports wagers to $25.9 million, comprising online wagers of $22.2 million (-6 per cent) and retail betting of $3.7 million (+12 per cent).
In the state’s land-based sector, Rhode Island’s two casinos saw gaming revenue decline by 4 per cent in August to $55.1 million. Slot machines recorded a 5 per cent decline in revenue to $44.2 million, which was partly offset by 2 per cent growth in table games revenue to $10.9 million. Twin River Casino revenue fell by 3 per cent to $42.4 million, while Tiverton Casino’s revenue declined 8 per cent to $12.6 million.
North Carolina
North Carolina’s sports wagers increased by 9 per cent in August to reach $520.5 million, but was the lower month of the year so far. Wagering comprised $12.1 million in promotional bets and $508.3 million in real-money wagers. Monthly gross revenue fell by 9 per cent to $49.0 million, at a 9.4 per cent margin, which was almost 2 percentage points less than in August 2025.
Colorado
Colorado’s 33 land-based casinos earned $104.0 million in gaming revenue for August, a rise of less than 1 per cent. Tables games were responsible for the state’s growth, with the casinos’ 248 tables delivering a 17 per cent increase in revenue to $15.5 million. Revenue from the casinos’ 10,510 slot machines fell by 2 per cent to $88.5 million.
Gaming Intelligence revealed the winners of this year’s North America edition of the Gaming Intelligence Awards, with FanDuel, Evolution and Scientific Games among the big winners.
Kalshi announced four more tribal gaming agreements this week to power prediction market platforms in California and Oklahoma.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has issued cease-and-desist letters to another 33 offshore gambling operators this week for operating illegally in the state.
The New York Lottery had total sales of $720.7 million in the five weeks to 3 October, including a 24 per cent jump in instant game sales to $408.3 million.
Games Global is entering its fifth US online gaming market after gaining licence approval from the West Virginia Lottery Commission.
This week’s games round-up features Relax Gaming, Play’n GO, Evolution’s Nolimit City, 1spin4win, BGaming and Yggdrasil.
Kalshi won a reprieve in Illinois after a federal district court ruled that it was likely to suffer irreparable harm if state gambling laws are applied to its sports-related event contracts.
Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) has secured approval to provide independent testing services in New Zealand’s regulating online casino market.
PENN Entertainment subsidiary Score Media and Gaming has been fined CA$200,000 for failing to honour cash-out offers in Ontario.
The Rhode Island Lottery reported a 3 per cent fall in sales for August to $26.9 million, despite good growth from instant games.
Stake is set to go live in the Canadian province of Alberta next week after securing licence approval from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC).
Sportradar Group has agreed a deal to sell Atrium Sports, the coaching and scouting business of Synergy Sports, to Teamworks Innovations for $170 million.
Wagering on US horse racing grew by 4 per cent in September to $769.2 million and was the best percentage rise of 2026 so far.
The Pennsylvania Lottery showed 2 per cent year-on-year sales growth in July to $436.2 million, with online sales increasing by 5 per cent to $72.8 million.
Scientific Games has agreed an extension to its long-running scratchcard games partnership with French National Lottery operator FDJ United.
BetMGM is giving its players a new way to turn their digital play into real-world experiences through a new partnership with Gametime, a ticketing platform for live events.
Enteractive has appointed Stephen Parry as group CEO to lead the player activation and reactivation specialist’s next phase of growth.
The Iowa Lottery saw total sales fall by 3 per cent in August to $38.5 million, driven by lower sales of draw games.