Records were meant to be broken, and Maryland casinos set a new revenue record with $181.5 million in July. Numbers are up 0.8% from July 2021’s $180.1 million, previously the state’s highest one-month total, starting the Fiscal Year 2023 up that same amount YoY.
The record month comes after a slight dip in June when $162.7 million in casino revenue closed out the Fiscal Year 2022 revenue with over $2 billion for the first time in state history. FY 2023 is now on track to challenge, if not break, that record in what is proving to be a growing casino industry.
Breaking the record was inevitable
Maryland’s six casinos broke the year-standing record after flirting with that number several times during the first half of 2022.
March Madness kick-started the rush through spring and summer, with casinos topping $170 million in revenue for just the fifth time in state history (at that time). Since then, they’ve done it three of the last four months.
| Month | Revenue |
|---|---|
| July 2022 | $181.5 million |
| June 2022 | $162.7 million |
| May 2022 | $178.8 million |
| April 2022 | $170.7 million |
| March 2022 | $170.6 million |
| February 2022 | $163 million |
| January 2022 | $153.8 million |
The momentum continued through April and May, which recorded the second-highest total at the time. June – historically a down month – was still up YoY with a respectable $162.7 million in revenue, helping to carry that momentum to July’s new pinnacle.
Two casinos continue to dominate
MGM National Harbor and Live! Casino & Hotel have held more than 75% of the state’s revenue share in recent months. In July, the two combined for 76% of the market share.
MGM ($77.2 million) was unsurprisingly the top earner, reporting a nearly $5 million increase (6.8%) from July 2021. Live! ($61.6 million) declared a $1.3 million decrease (-2.1%) YoY.
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore was next closest, cemented in a distant third with $18.4 million in revenue. These numbers represent a $947K decrease (-4.9%) from July 2021.
| Casino | Slot Win | Table Games Win | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGM National Harbor | $43.6 million | $33.7 million | $77.2 million |
| Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland | $43.8 million | $17.8 million | $61.6 million |
| Horseshoe Casino Baltimore | $12 million | $6.4 million | $18.4 million |
| Ocean Downs Casino | $9.7 million | $807,000 | $10.5 million |
| Hollywood Casino Perryville | $6.4 million | $1.2 million | $7.5 million |
| Rocky Gap Casino Resort | $5.6 million | $637,000 | $6.2 million |
| Total | $121 million | $60.5 million | $181.5 million |
Of the three casinos in the bottom half of the rankings, only Ocean Downs Casino reported an increase from 2021. Its $10.5 million was up 0.2%, or just $25K from July 2021.
Hollywood Casino Perryville ($7.5 million) had a rough month, reporting a 14.1% decrease YoY. Had it been hit any harder, it may have threatened to fall below Rocky Gap ($6.2 million), far and away the state’s smallest casino. Rocky Gap’s revenue was down 1.4% YoY.
Bring on football season!
Looking forward to the fall means one thing to many Marylanders: football season. While an official timeline for online sports betting has not yet been established, five casinos have retail sportsbooks that will draw in extra foot traffic.
The late months of the year are typically better months for the casino industry nationwide. That said, 2021’s YoY totals were grossly inflated due to COVID-19 causing casinos to operate with restrictions in 2020.
Of course, sports betting revenue is reported separately from that of casino gaming. Sports betting will be plenty popular across the state, but casino gaming should also continue to see its upward trend continue into the fall months.
But will it be enough to set another new record before the end of the year? We’ll have to wait and see.
