July bucked a historic trend for Ohio casinos, and not in the way they were hoping.
Typically one of the best months of the year for casino revenue, Ohio casinos reported $81,959,502 in July revenue. This was around $369,000 (0.5%) more than June but only the fifth-best total of seven months in 2024. Only June ($81.6 million) and January ($75.2 million) have had lower totals.
Additionally, Ohio casinos had their worst July since 2019. Monthly revenue declined by 4.6% from a year ago when casinos reported just below $86 million. Even July 2020 produced higher numbers amidst casinos’ first attempts to reopen from pandemic-related closures.
- July 2024: $82 million
- July 2023: $86 million
- July 2022: $88.7 million
- July 2021: $90.5 million
- July 2020: $86 million
- July 2019: $70.4 million
Only two Ohio casinos report July revenue gains
The Buckeye state has four retail casinos, seven racinos and one of the healthiest sports betting industries nationwide. Ohio online casinos remain prohibited for the time being, but players can still compete for cash prizes at sweepstakes and social casinos.
All four Ohio casinos opened within a one-year period between May 2012 and March 2013. Ohio’s four largest cities – Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo – each have one casino.
Of these four, Hollywood Columbus remained the state’s highest revenue producer with $22.2 million. Hollywood Toledo reported the lowest revenue total at $18.9 million.
JACK Cleveland and Hard Rock Cincinnati fell in between the two Hollywood properties. JACK’s $21.2 million reclaimed second place over Hard Rock’s $19.7 million after Hard Rock outperformed JACK in June ($20.2 million to $19.7 million).
All four casinos reported revenue totals within $3.4 million of one another. Only two had monthly gains, and none improved from a year ago.
- Hollywood Columbus: -5.1% MoM (from $23.4 million); -4% YoY (from $23.2 million)
- JACK Cleveland: +7.6% MoM (from $19.7 million) -4% YoY (from $21.2 million)
- Hard Rock Cincinnati: -2.8% MoM (from $20.2 million); -6.3% YoY (from $21 million)
- Hollywood Toledo: +3.4% MoM (from $18.2 million); -4.3% YoY (from $18.9 million)
Slot & table game revenue stays consistent across Ohio casinos
Ohio casinos reported similar percentages for slot machine and table game revenues. Both verticals showed slight improvements from June and similar declines from July 2023.
Slot machines made up nearly three-fourths of casino revenue, $60.1 million. This was a 0.6% increase from June ($59.8 million) and 4.3% worse than July 2023 ($62.8 million).
Table games accounted for the remaining $21.8 million, up 0.1% monthly ($15K) and down 5.6% yearly (from $23.1 million).
| Casino | Table Game Revenue | Slot Machine Revenue | Total Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Columbus | $4,787,549 | $17,440,745 | $22,228,294 |
| JACK Cleveland | $8,430,930 | $12,769,720 | $21,200,650 |
| Hard Rock Cincinnati | $6,800,704 | $12,866,236 | $19,666,940 |
| Hollywood Toledo | $1,810,328 | $17,053,290 | $18,863,618 |
| TOTAL | $21,829,511 | $60,129,991 | $81,959,502 |
Table games by casino:
- Hollywood Columbus: -9.8% MoM (from $5.3 million); -1% YoY (from $4.8 million)
- JACK Cleveland: +9.9% MoM (from $7.7 million); -5% YoY (from $8.9 million)
- Hard Rock Cincinnati: +6.4% MoM (from $6.4 million); +1.2% YoY (from $6.7 million)
- Hollywood Toledo: -25.8% MoM (from $2.4 million); -32.7% YoY (from $2.7 million)
Slot machines by casino:
- Hollywood Columbus: -3.7% MoM (from $18.1 million); -4.9% YoY (from $18.3 million)
- JACK Cleveland: +6.1% MoM (from $12 million); -3.3% YoY (from $13.2 million)
- Hard Rock Cincinnati: -7% MoM (from $13.8 million); -9.9% YoY (from $14.2 million)
- Hollywood Toledo: +7.9% MoM (from $15.8 million); +0.1% YoY (+$24K)
Ohio’s third straight $1 billion casino year is in jeopardy
With July’s numbers, Ohio casino revenue totals over $585 million in 2024. This equates to around $83.6 million per month, an average that would result in Ohio casino revenue surpassing $1 billion by around $2 million.
Ohio casinos reported $1.014 billion in 2023 and $1.005 billion in 2022. They fell short of that mark in 2022, reaching $983.7 million.
Unfortunately, the year’s first half has historically produced more robust numbers than the second half. Ohio casinos posted just under $598 million a year ago through July.
This means Ohio casino revenue is down 2.2%, or around $12.9 million less than a year ago. Ohio casinos have seen revenue decline yearly in four of this year’s seven months.
So, can they turn it around and challenge 2023’s yearly totals? Even if they don’t make up any ground, Ohio casinos can surpass $1 billion in annual revenue by matching last year’s totals for the final five months.
If not, however, the margins are slim, and breaking $1 billion for the year could be in jeopardy.
