Maryland Casinos Experience Slight October Dip in Revenue

The six commercial casinos in Maryland had a slight dip in revenue from the previous month.

Maryland casinos took in a combined $142,660,085 in revenue in October, down 0.7% from September’s total of $143,709,268.

The gaming facilities in Maryland are still operating at 50% capacity in the wake of guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the six Maryland casinos as well as gaming venues across the country this spring and summer.

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In a year-over-year comparison, the October numbers are 0.9% lower than 12 months earlier, according to Maryland Lottery and Gaming’s reported figures. The state’s gaming facilities pulled in a total of $143,895,409 in revenue in October 2019.

Breakdown of Maryland Casino Revenue in October

The MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, on the Potomac River and in easy reach of Washington D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia, led Maryland in table games revenue in October at $24,603,138. MGM National Harbor was second in Video Lottery Terminal revenue; the leader in that category was Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover, roughly halfway between Baltimore and D.C. Live! Casino pulled in $34,503,213 of VLT revenue in October.

Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore was third in both categories — $12 million in VLT revenue and $5.3 million in table games — followed by Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin, Hollywood Casino in Perryville and Rock Gap Casino in Flintstone.

In all, the state drew $95,519,326 from VLTs and $47,140,759 from table games.

More than 30% of the state’s annual casino revenues fund Maryland education. In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the Maryland Education Trust Fund benefitted from a casino contribution of more than $542.7 million. The 2019-20 fiscal year totals were lower because of pandemic-related closures, but the fund still got $396.8 million from casinos.

Maryland Sports Betting Coming

The gaming scene in Maryland will see major growth soon thanks to a ballot measure that the state’s voters passed on Nov. 3.

Voters approved Maryland sports betting by a 2-1 margin with no specifics on when it would launch. The six casinos should be in line for both retail and mobile sports betting licenses once the Maryland legislature figures out the details some time in the 2021 session.

That added gambling option, combined with re-expanded capacities once COVID-19 is better under control, should mean that 2021 will be a banner year for Maryland bettors no matter how they like to place their wagers.