If Ohio’s current gaming trends continue, April’s revenue shower will bring more than May flowers for the gambling houses. Ohio casinos and racinos appear ready to put the COVID-19 related downturn in business in the rearview mirror.
Continuing the record-setting pace set in March, the state’s seven racinos and four casinos reported $ 217.1 million in monthly revenue in April. The April figure broke the previous record of 215.9 million set in March.
March and April of 2021 have been by far the two best revenue-generating months on record since Ohio legalized casino gambling nine years ago.
The uptick in revenue follows a directive from Ohio Governor Mike Dewine, easing capacity restrictions and lifting overnight curfews imposed during the initial COVID-19 outbreak.
BREAKING DOWN OHIO CASINO REVENUE
The four casinos in Ohio — JACK Cleveland Casino, Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, Hollywood Casino Toledo, and Hollywood Casino Columbus — took in $92.5 million.
As with February, Hollywood Columbus led the way with $24.6 million in revenue. The figure was slightly lower than the $24.8 million the casino reported last month.
| Casino | April 2021 Revenue |
| Hollywood Casino Columbus | $24,653,340 |
| Hollywood Casino Toledo | $22,931,251 |
| JACK Cleveland Casino | $24,060,207 |
| Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati | $21,280,100 |
OHIO TABLE GAMES MAKE UP FOR SLIGHT DECREASE IN SLOT REVENUE
The Ohio Casino Control Commission reported the 327 tables generated revenues of $26.8 million for April, a 13% increase from March. Ohio’s 4723 slot machines bought in $65.6 million, in revenues a five percent decrease from March.
According to the Ohio Lottery Commission, video lottery terminals, which are offered at the state’s seven racinos, reported revenues of $124.5 million in April.
WHAT FACTORS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE SPIKE IN GAMBLING REVENUES
Spring with its tax returns and warmer temperatures generally leads to an uptick in gambling revenues across the state. But when accounting for the pent-up demand on top of the third round of stimulus checks gambling revenues could be on the upswing for the foreseeable future.
On Feb. 11, Gov. Mike DeWine suspended the state’s overnight curfew while also reopening the casino poker rooms to limited capacity. Ohio still requires masks for casino, bar, and restaurant guests indoors and out except when eating or drinking.
DeWine has stated Ohio will rescind the remaining restrictions including the mask mandate when the state reaches a low of 50 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week period.
