Poker has certainly seen a boom since the COVID pandemic. The growth of online poker, streaming, and vlogging have contributed to more players and record tournament fields over the last four years, such as this summer’s World Series of Poker.
But how does the game stack up against other casino games? BetMGM recently took a look at the popularity of various casino games by using Google Trends to determine the most searched-for online casino games across the U.S. in 2024. Poker came out on top, corresponding with the growth the game has seen in recent years.
“Poker is a part of U.S. culture,” BetMGM Senior Manager of Poker Marketing Will O’Connor said. “From watching on TV to playing in home games, many people learn the game socially and, as the data shows, are searching for poker online.”
Other Casino Game Preferences
The analysis provides new data on gaming preferences by state, regional differences between gamblers, and current search trends. Online casino gaming remains legal in just a few states, but Americans continue researching the topic – possibly making use of sweepstakes and social gaming platforms as well as offshore options.
Poker came out as the most searched-for casino game in the U.S., followed by slot machines, blackjack, roulette, and bingo.
Pennsylvania remains the leader among legalized online gaming states and fittingly saw the most searches for “online casino.” Nevada saw the most searches for poker, roulette, and blackjack, which makes sense as the country’s traditional gaming leader.
When it comes to bingo, residents of Washington D.C. apparently enjoy searching for letters and numbers as that game came out on top in the nation’s capital. Southern and central states favored slot games (Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama, and Louisiana).
“These areas are known for their strong presence of land-based casinos,” the report notes. “This trend suggests that the presence of physical casinos in these states contributes to their residents’ interest in slot machines online.”
The research comes as a new report for the American Gaming Association details how Americans are increasingly embracing casino gaming and sports betting as acceptable forms of entertainment, while also skewing younger.