The records keep falling for Maryland casinos.
The six commercial casinos in the Old Line State combined to make $180.1 million in revenue for July, setting a state record for the third time in 2021.
In all, five of the top six months in history for revenue at Maryland casinos have come in 2021, according to figures released on Friday by Maryland Lottery and Gaming.
And these figures are likely to be only a jumping-off point because Maryland sports betting is coming soon, in retail form at first, at the state’s casinos. That’s on track to happen this fall, probably during football season. Online sports betting in the state is expected to launch some time in 2022.
Breakdown of Maryland’s Revenue at Casinos
The July revenue figure for the state’s casinos – $180,145,516, to be exact – was 4.5% higher than the $172,394,450 recorded in May. That month, in turn, broke the casino revenue record of $169,179,016 set in March.
July began a new fiscal year for the state’s casinos.
The monthly figure was also 28.7% higher in a year-over-year comparison to July 2020, when the facilities pulled in $139.9 million while running at 50% because of protocols related to COVID-19.
MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill led all casinos in July with $72.3 million in revenue, with Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover second at $62.9 million. The other casinos reported July revenue as follows: Horseshoe Casino Baltimore ($19.3 million); Ocean Downs Casino in Berlin ($10.5 million); Hollywood Casino Perryville ($8.8 million) and Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone ($6.3 million).
Combined gross terminal revenue for Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) for the six casinos was $122.8 million in July; the table games brought in $57.4 million.
Casinos contributed $77.3 million to Maryland’s coffers for the month, with $56.3 million going to the Education Trust Fund.
Maryland Launching Sports Betting Soon
The news about record revenues comes at a time when casinos in Maryland are preparing to offer sports betting in the near future.
For instance, Live! Casino has a sportsbook set up, as part of a total entertainment area including a sports bar and lounge, just waiting for sports betting to launch. Live! has a partnership with FanDuel, which has been a top sportsbook (along with old fantasy sports rival DraftKings) in every state where it operates a sportsbook.
MGM National Harbor has a built-in sportsbook partner in BetMGM Maryland and Horseshoe Baltimore belongs to Caesars, which should be set to launch its branded sportsbook, among other deals. Most Maryland casinos are set to build out their sports wagering business, and it is expected that attractions such as Baltimore Ravens games and other Maryland NFL betting action will give the casinos a huge boost.
Then in 2022, Maryland sports betting apps will add to Maryland’s tally – and that option has accounted for the vast majority of sports wagering in states where it’s legal. Colorado and Illinois routinely get 95% to 98% of their sports betting handle from mobile apps, and several other states see about 90% of their action from a robust mobile sports betting market.
In other words, expect casino revenue records to keep falling in the Old Line State.
And when betting does launch in the state, BetMaryland's elite ("Maryland sportsbook promotions","BetMaryland.com - Promo Codes","492","","","","gtm-content-internal-links")|raw}} will help bettors maximize their potential payouts.
