October ushered in a slight uptick for Ohio’ gambling venues on the back of strong casino revenue.
Ohio casinos and racinos netted $192.2 million in October. That’s up 1.8% on September’s $188.6 million but down a hair (.3%) on last October’s $192.8 million.
YTD revenue up slightly at casinos, racinos over 2021
Ohio currently has 11 casinos and racinos in the state. Year-to-date revenue totals indicate that casinos and racinos fell off slightly in October from September’s increase over the previous year.
- January-October 2021 total revenue for casinos and racinos: $1.934 billion
- January-October 2022 total revenue for casinos and racinos: $1.956 billion
- Percent increase: 1.1%
Casino, Racino Revenue Increase from 2021 to 2022:
With two months left before the launch of sports betting, Ohio is still in line to post record revenues for its retail industries.
Ohio casinos hold strong in October
After a decent showing in September, Ohio casinos continued to recover in October, posting $83.1 million in net revenue. That’s up 2% on September’s $81.4 million and up 2.5% on October 2021’s $81 million.
With the exception of JACK Cleveland coming in $700,000 below September numbers, Ohio casinos held level or exceeded last month’s totals. The two Hollywood casinos moved the most. Hollywood Columbus, the state’s top earner, had the best month with a $1.5 million increase over last month. Not far off, Hollywood Toledo netted $1 million over last month.
| Casino | October 2022 Net Revenue (in millions) | September 2022 Net Revenue (in millions) | October 2021 Net Revenue (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| JACK Cleveland | $21.2 | $21.9 | $21.4 |
| Hollywood Columbus | $23.7 | $22.3 | $21.5 |
| Hard Rock Cincinnati | $20 | $20.1 | $19.3 |
| Hollywood Toledo | $18.1 | $17.1 | $18.7 |
| Total | $83.1 | $81.4 | $81 |
For the third month in a row, Ohio year-to-date casino revenue totals have netted 2.5% more revenue than 2021.
- January-October 2021 total revenue for casinos: $821.1 million
- January-October 2022 total revenue for casinos: $842.75 million
- Percent increase: 2.5%
The strong casino showing has kept the Ohio retail gambling industry on a track to outpace last year because Ohio racinos have dipped.
Racino revenues draw even with 2021
After a few months of coming in just above last year’s totals, Ohio racinos have drawn even with 2021 revenues.
Despite that, October actually saw an uptick over last month, as most Ohio racinos outperformed their September totals. The outliers were MGM Northfield Park, the state’s top earner, and JACK Thistledown. Both saw dips of $300,000 from September totals.
El Dorado Scioto Downs had the biggest month, coming in $1.2 million above September’s totals. That result represented a major turnaround for the track, which posted the poorest showing of all racinos last month. Again, both Hollywood tracks, in Dayton and Mahoning Valley, had strong showings.
| Racino | October 2022 Net Revenue (in millions) | September 2022 Net Revenue (in millions) | October 2021 Net Revenue (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGM Northfield Park | $23.3 | $23.7 | $23.7 |
| Eldorado Scioto Downs | $19.3 | $18.1 | $19.3 |
| Miami Valley Gaming | $18.8 | $18.8 | $18.4 |
| JACK Thistledown Racetrack | $14.6 | $14.9 | $16.5 |
| Hollywood Mahoning Valley | $14.0 | $13.0 | $13.4 |
| Hollywood Dayton | $12.4 | $12.0 | $12.4 |
| Belterra Park Thoroughbred Track | $6.6 | $6.6 | $8.1 |
| Total | $109.1 | $107.2 | $111.8 |
Looking at the year-to-date revenue totals, 2022 totals have drawn even with 2021.
- January-October 2021 total revenue for racinos: $1.113 billion
- January-October 2022 total revenue for racinos: $1.113 billion
- Percent increase: Even
Ohio sports betting launch taking shape
With less than two months to launch, Ohio regulators and operators have taken major steps toward the launch of sports betting. Pre-launch offers for operators like DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars are live in Ohio, with hundreds of dollars in bonus bets on the table.
In addition, nearly all of the 900 Ohio sports betting kiosk operators have received authorization from the Ohio Casino Control Commission to begin installing and testing their products in time for launch. These kiosks will allow Ohioans to place bets in convenient locations throughout the state, like grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores.
The next meeting of the commission is scheduled for Nov. 16.
