AGA Estimates $43.5 Billion Loss for Economy if Casinos Endure Two-Month Shutdown Due to Coronavirus

Faced with 95% of commercial casinos closing and 76% of tribal casinos closing due to COVID-19 shutdowns, the American Gaming Association estimated Thursday that a two-month shutdown would cost the U.S. economy $43.5 billion worth activity.

Most of the nation's commercial casinos have been shuttered, including every one in Las Vegas as of Wednesday morning.

The AGA said, in total, casinos provide $74 billion annually to employees and $41 billion in tax revenue and revenue sharing.

[Sin City Shutdown: What Happens in Vegas When the Casinos Are Forced to Close Their Doors]

AGA president and CEO Bill Miller, in a statement, called the ripple effect of the closures "staggering" while acknowledging that the shutdowns were "important health and safety conditions."

MGM proactively closed all of its properties after several of its employees tested positive for the virus. One man who played slots at the Seminole Casino Hotel in Immokalee, Fla., later died of the virus. The hotel has staggered its slot machines that are in use to provide social distancing and has postponed large events, but still remains open.