Maryland Casinos Experience Slump, February's Gaming Income Reaches $157 Million
Maryland Casinos Raked in a Record-breaking Amount from Gamblers in 2022. The six commercial casinos launched 2023 with a bang, but they encountered a sluggishness in the previous month.
Figures provided by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency show that the casinos earned $157 million in February 2023, marking a 3.6% decrease year-on-year or a fall of approximately $5.9 million compared to February 2022.
In 2022, the casinos pocketsed over $2 billion from their slot machines and table games. The record-breaking revenues in the prior year represented a nearly 7% year-on-year growth.
Maryland Casino Revenue
- $2.05B — 2022
- $1.92B — 2021
- $1.22B — 2020
- $1.75B — 2019
- $1.74B — 2018
- $1.61B — 2017
- $1.20B — 2016
- $1.09B — 2015
MGM National Harbor, the frontrunner in Maryland, went live in December 2016. Run by MGM Resorts, it led the way last year with a GGR of $884.4 million.
Potential Slump in 2023?
Maryland casinos maintained their 2022 momentum into the new year with a flourishing January. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) amounted to just under $167.3 million — an 8.8% surge on January 2022, signaling the state gaming sector’s record-breaking streak.
The state gaming sector navigated ongoing inflation and economic worries, yet the nearly 13-month growth spurt finally eased in February. National Harbor posted nearly static GGR of $65.6 million, a 0.4% year-on-year decrease.
Live! Casino, the second- wealthiest casino in Maryland, saw GGR decline by more than 6% to around $55.7 million. Horseshoe Baltimore’s year-on-year decline was even more significant at 8% to $16.3 million.
The state’s three resort casinos together earned approximately $19.4 million — a drop of around 3%. Ocean Downs was the only Maryland casino to report a year-on-year GGR increase in February 2023 at 3.7%. Churchill Downs, Inc., the casino's owner and operator, won $6.8 million.
February 2023 had the same number of weekend days — eight — as February 2022. No major weather issues last month could be cited for the gaming slump.
Sports Betting Advantage
Should the February casino trend persist into March and throughout 2023, some of the year-on-year deficits will be partly compensated by the introduction of online sports betting.
Betting on professional and college sports in the Old Line State became in-person at the state’s casinos in December 2021. Online sports betting, which Marylanders also endorsed through a November 2020 referendum, only commenced in mid-November 2022.
In December, online sportsbooks accounted for over $478.2 million of the $497.2 million wagered on sports. Oddsmakers kept almost $85.2 million of the bets on a robust 17% hold. Online books made $82.3 million.
Online sportsbooks continue to clash for market share with substantial promotional incentives for new customers. The December handle included over $70.9 million in free bets.
Bettors tend to place free wagers on events with longer odds than they otherwise would with their own cash. This led to the high hold rate.
In January, promotional bets slowed, as bettors keen to wager legally online have utilized most of their incentives. Promotional wagers in January totaled about $21.8 million.
January GGR from sports betting totaled $59.6 million on a 13.5% hold. February figures have not yet been disclosed.
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