Maryland casinos recorded their fourth-best single month ever (at the time) with a whopping $170.6 million in combined revenue in March. They narrowly topped that mark the very next month in April by bringing in $170.7 million, making March the fifth-best mark in the state’s casino history.
Even though March’s revenue is less than 1% more than the $169.2 million in March 2021, this month’s revenue is one of the highest for the state. It also represents a 19% increase from this point in the fiscal year 2021.
Breakdown of the Numbers
MGM National Harbor ($67.7 million) and Live! Casino & Hotel ($62 million) led the pack, and both grew nearly 2% compared to this time last year. While MGM made more money overall, it was Live! that made more from VLT machines by over $2 million. Having 1,600 more slots certainly helped.
March was not good for every casino this year. Both Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and Hollywood Casino Perryville lost revenue compared to March 2021. The Baltimore casino saw a decrease of 4.6% while Hollywood, in Cecil County, dropped by 2.6%.
Ocean Downs Casino, however, saw the largest boost with a 2.8 percent increase.
| Casino | Slot Win | Table Games Win | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGM National Harbor | $40.3 Million | $27.4 Million | $67.7 Million |
| Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland | $42.5 Million | $19.5 Million | $62 Million |
| Horseshoe Casino Baltimore | $12.5 Million | $6.3 Million | $18.8 Million |
| Hollywood Casino Perryville | $7.2 Million | $1.19 Million | $8.4 Million |
| Ocean Downs Casino | $6.8 Million | $860,000 | $7.7 Million |
| Rocky Gap Casino Resort | $4.9 Million | $666,000 | $5.6 Million |
| Total | $114.4 Million | $56 Million | $170.6 Million |
Compared to last month, every casino increased its total revenue, and each casino added to its slot win (except for Rocky Gap, who nearly matched last month). On the table game side, MGM and Horseshoe came away with less money than in February.
Sports betting revenue will be released in the coming days and if the increased traffic from March Madness had anything to do with the uptick in casino profits, then there may be more to come.
NCAA March Boost
March is a common month for revenue records and the increased foot traffic for sports betting, and March Madness has certainly helped Maryland casinos. While Marylanders were without a local NCAA team to bring them to the five casinos with sportsbooks, Virginians unable to bet on Virginia Tech, Longwood, Richmond, or Norfolk St. could drive in to place a bet.
Arlington Magazine listed MGM National Harbor as a place to watch tournament games.
Lack of Mobile Betting Helping Casinos
Maryland is still hopeful to have mobile betting licenses approved by September 2022, but the state’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission cannot proceed until they grasp the hurdles for new licensees, mainly through surveys.
SWARC received responses from industry participants on the current landscape for new operators and now they wait on their disparity survey, which will highlight barriers of entry for women and minority-owned in the betting space. Thus, those wanting to place a wager still have to go to a physical location, i.e. casinos.
