Maryland Casino Revenue Dips Slightly in October at $155M

Casinos in Maryland experienced a slight dip in October revenue compared to September, but the figures rose from one year earlier.

The six commercial casinos in The Old Line State combined for $154,978,898 in revenue for October. That was a 6.3% drop from the $165.4 million reported in September.

In a year-over-year comparison, last month’s revenue figure was 8.6% higher than the $142.66 million from October 2020.

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The totals after four months of the 2021-22 fiscal year (July through June) are trending upward. From July to October, Maryland casinos have brought in $669 million in revenue, 16.2% higher than the $575.8 million from the first four months of FY 2020-21, when figures were affected by COVID-19 closures and protocols.

Maryland Revenue Breakdown for Casinos

The six casinos in Maryland – MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin, Hollywood Casino Perryville and Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone – made a combined contribution of $50 million to the state’s Educational Trust Fund in October, according to Maryland Lottery and Gaming.

Live! Casino led the state in October with $60.8 million of revenue in October, a 22.7% jump from one year earlier. That was the first time all year that the Hanover facility led the state; MGM National Harbor had led every month in 2021. MGM was second at nearly $55.9 million, down 1.2% from 12 months earlier. Live! has the most slot machines in the state with 3,787 compared to MGM’s 2,158, but MGM has more table games, 201 to 187.

The other four facilities are smaller. Horseshoe was third in October revenue at $17.2 million for the month, followed by Ocean Downs ($7.7 million), Hollywood ($7.6M) and Rocky Gap ($5.8M).

This year, the state has reset its record for casino revenue three times, most recently in July when the facilities combined to pull in more than $180 million. That broke the mark of $172.4 million set in May.

Maryland Sports Betting Update

Five of the six Maryland casinos have been approved to offer retail sports betting when it launches, but it appears that won’t happen until 2022. Mobile sports betting will launch well behind that, perhaps not until the 2022 NFL season.

Maryland’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) has been slow in approving operators but the state’s Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has given the OK to Hollywood, Horseshoe, Live!, MGM and Ocean Downs.

This week, SWARC asked for further information from applicants and set the next meeting for Nov. 18.