Ohio’s casinos and racinos have already broken the revenue record for an entire year in 2021, with still one month to go. Venues in the state have accumulated $2.11 billion in gambling revenue through November, heading into December with confidence.
The current record-setting figure stands $120 million ahead of the previous record, set in 2019, according to figures shared by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. In comparison, throughout pandemic-affected 2020, gambling venues in the state posted a comparably low $1.44 billion in revenue, amid closures and capacity restrictions.
Since the introduction of casinos and racinos to the state in 2012, and excluding 2020, gambling revenue has climbed each year without fail, reports Cleveland.com. In comparison, in their first year of operations, casinos posted $430 million of gambling revenue in 2012: revenue has more than quadrupled since then.
Statewide revenue for the month of November amounted to $78.1 million, up from $59.5 million in the same month last year. Most of it corresponded to slots revenue at $60 million, which was up from $41.7 million in 2020. Table games brought in $26.1 million, up from $17.8 million last year.
A look at gambling revenue by establishment shows that venues in the Cleveland-Akron area -JACK Cleveland Casino, JACK Thistledown Racino and MGM Northfield Park- all posted figures above last year’s November.
MGM Northfield Park posted $21.3 million in revenue, up from $15.6 million in 2020; JACK Cleveland Casino posted $21 million, up from $14.5 million; and JACK Thistledown Racino posted $14.3 million, up from $11.3 million.
MGM Northfield is the casino that brought in the highest revenue throughout the year, at $251 million. It is followed by Hollywood Casino Columbus, with $237.9 million in revenue, and JACK Cleveland Casino, at $235.7 million. Hollywood Casino Toledo ($217.4 million) and Eldorado Gaming Scioto ($211.3 million) round up the top five.
In 2020, the state mandated venues to close entirely between mid-March and June amidst the Covid pandemic. An overnight curfew was subsequently issued by Gov. Mike DeWin on November 19, 2020, closing operations each day for several hours: venues only returned to full operation in mid-February this year.
Ohio’s gambling industry has also made the news this week as the state’s long road to sports betting could be reaching its end. Following years of negotiations and debate, legislators have now passed a sports betting bill for the governor to sign, after receiving approval from both the Senate and the House earlier this week.
