Louisiana casinos continue to struggle, revenue drops for ninth straight month
Louisiana casinos continued their losing streak in October.
This week, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board reported roughly $174.5 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) from the state’s 13 riverboats and two brick-and-mortar casinos. Revenue includes betting winnings from slot machines, table games and sportsbooks.
The October win marked a 2.5% year-over-year decline compared to October 2022. This is the ninth consecutive month that gaming revenue has declined compared to the same month last year.
The Lake Charles market and its three riverboat casinos (Golden Nugget, L’Auberge and Horseshoe) led the way with approximately $63.4 million in GGR in October. Compared to October 2022, this is a decrease of 4.2%.
The boats in the Shreveport/Bossier market - Boomtown, Bally's, Horseshoe, Sam's Town and Margaritaville - combined for $44.8 million in profits. Shreveport/Bossier was one of the highlights last month, with the win marking a 3.6% year-over-year GGR increase.
Market Report
The New Orleans market, which includes Harrah's New Orleans, one of the state's land-based casinos, as well as Boomtown and Treasure Chest, earned $39.9 million. A year-on-year decrease of 12.2%. Harrah’s had the largest market gain at $19.6 million, down 5.1% from October 2022.
Gaming profits in Baton Rouge totaled $20.6 million, up 13 percent. Market growth is fueled by the recent opening of the revamped Queen of Baton Rouge, now a brick-and-mortar casino after an $85 million investment. The Queen's earnings rose 51% to about $6.4 million. L'Auberge accounted for the bulk of Baton Rouge's remaining GGR, $13.4 million, while Belle only won about $800,000.
Slot machine winnings at the state's four racetracks (Delta Downs, Louisiana Downs, Evangeline Downs and Fair Grounds) total approximately $22.3 million. That’s a 13% loss compared to October 2022, when these games generated nearly $25.7 million in slot winnings.
Oddsmakers kept about $3.25 million of the $32.8 million in individual bets they accepted, down 28% year over year. Online sportsbooks fared better, retaining $39.2 million of $276.2 million in bets. Mobile sports betting is up 14% compared to October 2022.
Possible reasons for continued decline
Gaming is booming across much of the United States. The American Gaming Association reported this week that commercial gaming revenue exceeded $16.1 billion in the third quarter. The industry is on track to post record gaming revenue for the third consecutive year.
Why is Louisiana’s gaming industry struggling? Video poker, while not included in the LGCB's monthly gaming statistics, will continue to resonate with players, according to Matt Roob, senior vice president of analytics at Spectrum Gaming Group, a Pennsylvania-based gaming consulting firm.
Video poker machines are used in bars, restaurants, hotels, off-track betting offices and rest stops. As of October, there were 1,390 video gaming venues and 11,834 terminals across the state.
Video poker revenue increased from $623.8 million in 2019 to $839.2 million in 2021.
“People may be changing their game and staying closer to home,” Ruble told The Advocate in May 2022.
However, slot gaming also experienced a slight decline in 2022, with gaming winnings falling to around $810 million.
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Source: www.casino.org
