No legal sports betting yet? No problem. Another Maryland online casino revenue record shows just how successful casinos in MD currently are at bringing in guests and keeping them playing despite the current lack of retail sportsbooks on their premises.
The six MD casinos gathered more than $180.1 million in win in July of this year. That is not only a new monthly high but keeps 2021 on pace to be the best year for casinos in MD yet.
The details on the new Maryland casino revenue record
According to the MD Lottery & Gaming Control Commission, July’s casino hold shattered the previous record by almost $8 million. In May of this year, win for the six casinos came to $172.3 million. That record was just two months removed from the previous high mark of $169.1 million in March.
July’s total also represents a growth of 10.4% month-over-month. In June, the six casinos reported $161.4 million in revenue. MGM National Harbor held onto its top spot, enjoying month-over-month growth of about 11.8%.
| Facility | Slots Win | Table Games Win | Total Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGM National Harbor | $42.5 million | $29.8 million | $72.3 million |
| Live! Casino & Hotel | $44.8 million | $18.2 million | $63 million |
| Horseshoe Baltimore | $12.9 million | $6.5 million | $19.4 million |
| Ocean Downs Casino | $9.3 million | $1.1 million | $10.4 million |
| Hollywood Casino Perryville | $7.6 million | $1.1 million | $8.7 million |
| Rocky Gap Resort Casino | $5.6 million | $0.7 million | $6.3 million |
| Totals | $122.7 million | $57.4 million | $180.1 million |
All six casinos improved upon their June numbers. Ocean Downs Casino saw the largest month-over-month increase, up over 15.4% in July. Most of that win increase came from slots hold, which was up 15.1% on its own.
Altogether, the six licensees paid more than $77.3 million in taxes to the state for July. As you would expect, that’s also a new record for a single month. Perhaps equally importantly, July’s numbers keep 2021 on pace to be a truly remarkable year in MD gambling history.
Casinos seemingly unstoppable in 2021
Maybe the months-long shutdown last year made gamblers’ hearts grow fonder of MD casinos. Maryland casinos were limited to 50% of fire code capacity and guests faced other restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic last July.
Thus, a true year-over-year comparison doesn’t have much value. Therefore, 2019 makes a better measurement. That context demonstrates the power of this year’s performance, perhaps even more than the fact that five of the six-best monthly win totals in MD gambling history belong to this year.
Since January of this year, MD casinos have held more than $1.1 billion. For the sake of comparison, January through July in 2019 produced just over a billion in revenue. This calendar year’s revenue is up about 9.1%.
July 2019 on its own accounted for $149.2 million in win, so this year’s version of July represents an impressive increase of 17.2%. That’s an increase of about 4.2% as compared to the difference between June of 2021 and June 2019.
The best part of this new record for MD casinos is that it comes during a summer month when patrons normally divert their entertainment budgets elsewhere. At the current rate of growth, MD casinos could be looking at their first $2 billion hold year.
