In June, Ohio officially set January 1 2023 as the launch date for sports betting, while announcing a $7 million drop in gambling revenue for May. One month earlier, the Buckeye State reported a $2.15 million decrease in gaming revenue compared to last April’s numbers. Now, the Casino Control and Lottery commissions reported June to be the third consecutive month with a drop in revenue compared to last year’s numbers. What could this mean for the industry? Most likely, the end of the fast-paced growth of the state’s casinos and racinos.
$7.6 Million Drop in Gambling Revenue in June
In June 2022, the state’s racinos and casinos gathered $196.8 in gambling revenue. The revenue represents the money kept by establishments after paying out players’ winnings, prior to paying off state fees and taxes. The figure signaled a $7.6 million decrease compared to June 2021. In spite of the consecutive monthly drops, Ohio’s 2022 earnings are still expected to surpass the results in 2021. So far, the state’s gambling revenue is higher midway through the current year compared to the same period in 2021, which still brought in record numbers in spite of the imposed overnight curfews. Accordingly, through June 2022, the state’s casinos and racinos gathered $1.17 billion in gambling revenue, from $1.15 billion in 2021 and $970 million a year before.
Let’s take a closer look at the revenue earned by Ohio’s four casinos and seven racing venues.
Better Than 2019, Slightly Worse Than 2021
The four casinos in the state recorded a $3.2 million drop in gambling revenue in June. Jack Cleveland Casino went down to $81,544,036 in June 2022 from $84,715,321 in June 2021. Hollywood Columbus went from $23,207,120 last June to $21,162,484 this June. As for Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, the casino was the only one to record an increase in revenue to $20,459,451 in June 2022 from $19,398,889 last June. On the other hand, Hollywood Toledo’s revenue crashed to $18,188,442 from $23,207,120. However, the overall numbers were $11.3 million ahead of 2019’s figures for all four casinos.
The seven racinos in Ohio announced a $4.5 million total decrease in revenue this June compared to last June. Only one of the seven establishments recorded a slight increase in June 2022 compared to last year’s period. Accordingly, MGM Northfield Park went from $23,060,573 in 2021 to $23,531,016 in 2022. At the same time, the overall June gambling revenue was $16.5 million higher compared to the numbers for 2019.
As for May and April 2022 compared to May and April 2021, casinos announced stable figures. Ohio’s racinos went down $7.5 million in May and dropped $2 million in April.
