Ohio’s casino/racino industry represents just a sliver of the national economic impact of the gambling industry in the U.S.
According to a new American Gaming Association report, Ohio accounts for just 1.1% of the 1.8 million jobs the gambling industry supports nationwide. The report studied the economic impact of U.S. casinos on the economy.
Additionally, Ohio represents just 1% of the $328.6 billion the casino gambling industry contributes annually to the U.S. economy. That number would likely increase with the addition of Ohio online casinos.
Casino industry impact has increased 25% in past five years
The Oxford Economics study is its first on annual economic impact since the last one the AGA released in 2018. In the five years since that report, the industry’s impact on the U.S. economy has increased by more than 25%.
“The U.S. gaming industry delivers long-term growth and impact to communities, generating significant tax revenue, creating strong jobs, supporting local small businesses, and funding critical community priorities,” AGA president Bill Miller said in the wake of the study’s release at the recent Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
Miller told The Washington Post that the numbers from the study would help support the AGA’s lobbying of lawmakers to achieve industry goals like cracking down on unlicensed gambling operations.
The study was based on the impact of commercial and tribal casinos in the U.S. and used numbers from 2022.
Ohio’s four casinos and seven racinos represent 2.3% of the 478 total U.S. commercial casinos located in 27 states. There are also 527 tribal casinos in 29 states.
Ohio casinos and racinos had $3.6 billion impact in 2022
In May, the AGA released its 2023 State of the States report. Based on 2022 economic numbers, the study found that Ohio’s casinos and racinos had an economic impact of $3.6 billion.
The report also found that Ohio’s gambling industry supported 19,953 jobs in the state.
The more recent study found that the U.S. commercial and tribal gaming industry contributed $52.7 billion in tax revenue to federal, state and local governments nationwide.
In Ohio, the gambling industry had a tax impact of $1.12 billion in 2022. Ohio taxes gross casino/racino revenue at 33%.
The state distributes tax revenue to county and city governments and school districts. The state’s gaming regulatory boards, law enforcement training fund and the problem gambling fund also receive money.
Racino tax revenue, overseen by the Ohio Lottery, goes to a state education fund.
Overall, tax revenue from gambling in Ohio will increase drastically in 2023 with the introduction of online and retail sports betting at the start of the year. In Ohio, sports betting revenue was taxed at a 10% rate for the first six months of the year. The rate increased to 20% beginning in July.
Ohio casino revenue on another record-setting pace
Casino revenue nationwide in 2022, according to the recently released Oxford Economics/AGA study, was $122 billion.
Gross gambling revenue in Ohio in 2022, which includes revenue from the state’s four casinos and seven racinos, was $2.3 billion or 1.8% of the national total.
Ohio’s four casinos set an annual revenue record in 2022. Those properties slightly edged out 2021’s revenue by generating a tad more than $1 billion. Through the first eight months of 2023, the casinos have been averaging $85 million in monthly revenue. If that average holds, Ohio casinos should hit $1.02 billion revenue for the year, which would beat the 2022 record.
Ohio’s seven racinos had $1.3 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year, which ended at the start of July. The first two months of the 2024 fiscal year suggest the racino’s annual revenue will be similar.
So, look for Ohio’s total casino and racino revenue for the 2023 calendar year to be just slightly ahead of its numbers in 2022.
