Maryland’s Casino Revenues Dipped in August

Article ByDavid Weir

September 8, 2023

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Posted in: Maryland Gambling News, US Casino News

Maryland’s casinos experienced a decline in revenue for August 2023, according to the latest figures from state regulator Maryland Lottery and Gaming.

The combined revenue from the six Maryland brick & mortar casinos amounted to $161 million. That marked a decrease from July’s numbers, and compared to last August.

In July 2023, Maryland’s casinos generated more than $174 million, but this figure fell by 7.4% in August. When compared to August 2022, the revenue saw a 4.7% decrease. This decline, while not drastic, indicates a slight cooling in the Maryland casino market, which has otherwise been robust.

This means the state’s tax revenues from casinos also witnessed a drop. In August 2023, casino contributions to the state decreased by 3.9% compared to the same month in 2022.

On the plus side, 2022 was a record-breaking year for Maryland’s casinos. July 2022 was the strongest month in 13 years of legal casino gaming in the state, and August wasn’t far behind – so year-on-year comparisons were always going to be tough in 2023.

Performance of Individual Casinos

MGM National Harbor, located in Prince George’s County, continued its trend of leading the Maryland revenue charts. It generated more than $68 million in August, with more than $39 million coming from its 2,301 slot machines and the remaining from its 209 table games. This figure represents a 4.8% decline from its revenue in August 2022.

Live! Casino and Hotel in Anne Arundel County followed in second place, bringing in more than $55 million. Interestingly, Live! generated more from its slot machines than MGM National Harbor, but lagged in table game revenues. Its total revenue for August was 3.1% less than the previous year.

Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore City secured the third spot, with close to $15.5 million in revenue, marking a 10.6% decrease from August 2022. Other casinos, including Ocean Downs Casino, Hollywood Casino, and Rocky Gap Casino, also experienced declines in their revenues compared to the previous year.

That’s not a good outlook for new Maryland market entrant Century Casinos. In late July, the Colorado-based operator paid $65.1 million for operating rights to the Rocky Gap Casino Resort, with Caesars Entertainment spin-off real estate investment arm VICI Properties buying the land.

Century might have hoped news of a change in management could have inspired a slight turnaround in revenues. But Rocky Gap remains at the bottom of the charts for now.  

State Benefits from Casino Revenues

Despite the dip in revenues, August still saw Maryland’s casinos make significant contributions to the state’s coffers. Across the month, the state received more than $68 million from casino gambling, a slight decrease of 3.9% compared to August 2022.

A significant portion of this revenue, more than $41 million, was directed to the Education Trust Fund from slot machine earnings. Additionally, $16.3 million from slot machines was allocated to programs supporting local communities, Maryland’s horse racing tracks, and businesses owned by women, minorities, and small enterprises. After accounting for these contributions, casino operators retained $51 million from slot machines.

Table games further contributed $7.8 million to the Education Trust Fund and $2.6 million to local jurisdictions. This left the casino operators with 80% of the table game revenue, amounting to $41.8 million.