The regional casino industry in the United States began the new year with a decrease in gross gaming revenues (GGR), in contrast to the positive performance of Nevada and Las Vegas.
Regional casinos, located outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, have faced significant challenges, resulting in declines in revenue.
Regional casinos see revenue drop
Top commercial gaming states such as New York, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan and Massachusetts have seen declines in revenue from table games, commercial casinos, racinos and gaming boats in January 2024.
But Pennsylvania has yet to release its January gross gaming revenue (GGR) report.
In upstate New York, the four commercial casinos reported a more than 10% decrease in revenue compared to January 2023, totaling $48.9 million.
The state’s “racinos,” which offer electronic video lottery machines, also saw a decline of about 10% year over year, with winnings of $182.5 million.
“Racinos” is generally a racetrack (horse or dog) that has an adjacent casino, very common in the USA. In other words, the word is a combination of “racetrack” and “casino”.
Weather conditions affect casino revenue
In Louisiana, revenue from casinos and racinos fell by almost 11%, despite the value of US$163.1 million in January 2024.
Thus, Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns highlighted that ice storms slowed traffic at casinos in the Shreveport-Bossier and Lake Charles markets.
Similarly, Mississippi riverboats also saw an 11% drop in revenue in January 2024.
Profit was just under $180.3 million and adverse weather conditions were also cited as one of the reasons for the decline.
In Indiana, January revenues were down 16.5% from a year ago. In Maryland, the drop was more than 8%, totaling US$ 153.2 million.
In Massachusetts, the three land-based casinos had earnings of about $93.5 million, but that represents a 3.5% drop.
Michigan also saw a decline in revenue. There were three Detroit commercial casinos earning $93.9 million, 9% less than in January 2023. However, Detroit casinos benefit from the iGaming operation.
While economists point to economic downsides due to the expansion of gaming, top executives and stakeholders emphasize the strong demand for legal, regulated gaming.
