Maryland’s casinos, led by Maryland Live!, continued an upward revenue trend in July, earning a combined $76 million—a 10 percent increase over the same period last year.
According to numbers released by the Maryland’s Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, Maryland Live! claimed $58.2 million of the total, an 11 percent increase from its year-on-year numbers.
Hollywood Casino Perryville earned $7.5 million, around the same figure it had last year. The Casino at Ocean Downs posted $6.1 million, an increase of 4.6 percent. Rocky Gap Casino Resort, the smallest of the four casinos in the state with just under 600 slots and 17 table games, posted $4.2 million in revenue.
Future revenue numbers can expect to be altered significantly with the opening of the state’s fifth casino, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, later this month. The Horseshoe Casino will be the second largest casino in the state with over 2,500 slot machines and 100 table games, more than twice that of Hollywood Casino Perryville.
Meanwhile, the state lottery saw its revenues hit $1.7 billion in fiscal 2013. That’s 2 percent worse than the previous year and the first decline in the past 16 years. The most evident culprit behind the lottery’s drop was the increased competition of casinos, something a Maryland General Assembly budget analysis confirmed, as quoted by the Maryland Reporter.
A separate state report found the drop in sales of lottery tickets had a direct correlation to some retailers in close proximity. There are around 2,000 lottery retailers within 20 miles of Maryland Live! and the launch of the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore – and the MGM-backed joint at National Harbor in Prince George’s County in 2016 – is expected to drive even more people away from lottery terminals.
