Gamblers are not helping casinos by staying away.

Visitors are spending less in America’s commercial casinos due to tight wallets in an unemployment generated atmosphere.

With consumers keeping a tight hold of their money, some slot machines and gambling tables have remained deserted, causing gaming revenue to shrink in the US.

The American Gaming Association has reported that casino revenue declined 5.5 per cent nationwide in 2009 to US$30.74 billion.

The worst market was in Atlantic City, the second-largest US gambling market after Las Vegas, where revenue fell 13.2 per cent from 2008.