AGA Gambling industry CEOs remain cautiously optimistic

There is not much reason for concern when it comes to the gambling industry’s long-term prospects, argue a number of chief executives from the top echelons of the business as quoted by the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Gaming Industry Outlook which was prepared in collaboration with Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency. The mood though is one of cautious pragmatism.

Two years after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, there is much reason for optimism. New Jersey and Pennsylvania have both posted record-breaking results over the past months, and the outlook seems to be bettering with every passing week. When interviewed, 62% of all gaming executives argued that the current conditions were good.

Another 35% said that they were at the very least, satisfactory. Just because things are good now doesn’t mean executives are blindly optimistic, however. In fact, 64% of executives said that future operating conditions would more or less remain in line with what they are today. Only 20% of the interviewees said that they expected things to improve significantly.

Commenting on these findings, AGA President and CEO Bill Miller explained that the outlook for the US economy was indeed one that invited caution as slowing growth is looming in the country. However, this does not really impede the gambling industry in any way which stands on a solid financial footing, allowing it to "weather any headwinds," the executive argues with confidence.

Still, there were some areas of the industry that companies seemed to be very optimistic about. For example, suppliers and operators are both confident that things would only be picking up. More operators now predict capital investment and gaming units in operation to increase over the coming months. At the very least, they expect these metrics to perform better than today.

Gaming equipment manufacturers are upbeat about their own chances of seeing more added to their bottom lines, as they predict that the time to replace old gaming units has come. This optimism is not just contingent on the old gear being scrapped, however, as manufacturers also report a positive outlook when it comes to expanding current land-based gaming capacity, which would necessitate more unit deliveries.

Availability of credit also doesn’t seem to be a daunting matter anymore, with companies now stepping forward with confidence and sending a clear signal that the American gambling industry is on an upswing – or at the very least, it’s not slowing down despite economic qualms of uncertain future.

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