Gaming revenues in the 12 US states which allow casinos fell 5.7 percent in 2009 to $30.7bn, according to a preliminary estimate by the American Gaming Association.

Racetrack casinos are now driving the expansion of gambling in the US, outpacing their more glamorous casino counterparts when it comes to new growth, a newly released study finds.

In an attempt to become a dominant player in the northeast, Pennsylvania state lawmakers finally gave their approval to a proposal legalizing table games at casinos and racinos across the state.

Political debate over whether to expand Delaware’s already sizeable gambling industry is intensifying following the release of a report recommending thousands of additional video slots.

The US gambling industry will have to wait until 2013 to see revenues return to pre-recession levels, as online competition bites, according to a research report by media intelligence group Mintel.

Rhode Island’s Twin River racino is headed for bankruptcy and may end up being sold or even taken over by the state, industry observers say. The dire predictions come just weeks after the racino, which is backed by one of the world’s top gambling investors, won a temporary reprieve from its lenders.

Pennsylvania racinos and casinos may get the green light to roll out table games, adding another headache for beleaguered Atlantic City as it struggles amid rising competition.

Rhode Island is mulling plans to make its flagship video slot complex a full-fledged casino, a move that could further raise the regulatory stakes in an intensifying regional gambling war. The upgrade comes with major gambling expansions in neighbouring Connecticut, as well as in New York State, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

A new report says the state of Delaware could take advantage of the historical quirk that allows it to offer sports betting to collect an additional US$22m to US$30m by upgrading the state's three slot machine casinos. However, the report may be parked while the State’s anti-gambling governor remains in office.

Following Governor Crist's pleas for the Seminole and the state legislature to reach an amenable consensus on the tribe's compact agreement, a resolution appears to be within reach. Meanwhile, the recent introduction of a legislative proposal calling for regulated intra-state online poker will test the reach of the US Department of Justice.