It wasn’t a good start to the New Year for Maryland casinos.
Not only did the Baltimore Ravens lose a heart-breaking AFC Championship game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, the state’s six privately owned casinos combined were down 7.5% in revenue compared to December. Maryland casinos generated more than $153.24 million in revenue, down from December ($165,629,163) and down 8.4% from January 2023 ($167,270,398).
Also, contribution to the state from casino gaming totaled more than $63.15 million, a solid decrease of more than $7.57 million (10.6%) compared to Jan. 2023.
There are no online Maryland casinos but there is legislation aimed at getting it passed.
Maryland state Sen. Ron Watson filed new iGaming bills late last month. Senate Bill 565 calls for a public referendum to allow online casinos to operate. A day later, he filed Senate Bill 603, which would take effect if voters approved the measure in November.
The Education Trust Fund had contributions in January of more than $45.64 million, down 11.2% ($5.75 million) from Jan. 2023. Casino gaming revenues also support the communities and jurisdictions where the casinos are located, Maryland’s horse racing industry and small, minority- and women-owned businesses.
All Casinos Down from Last January
Monthly revenues for all six casinos were down from a year ago. Here is the January 2024 breakdown:
- MGM National Harbor (2,265 slot machines, 207 table games): $66,041,474
- Live! Casino & Hotel (3,835 slot machines, 179 table games): $56,782,092
- Horseshoe Casino (1,385 slot machines, 115 table games): $14,570,608
- Hollywood Casino (693 slot machines, 23 table games): $6,555,351
- Ocean Downs Casino (845 slot machines, 19 table games): $6,105,335
- Rocky Gap Casino (616 slot machines, 16 table games): $3,188,456
Maryland sports betting numbers for January will be released later this month.
