MGM Resorts casinos in the US dealt with a cyberattack last month that disrupted computer systems across their properties in eight states. MGM Northfield Park in Ohio was among the affected casinos.
September casino revenue reports are now out, shining a light on the financial damage caused by the attack.
MGM Northfield Park led in revenue despite the attack
For a short time in September, MGM websites were down nationwide, and several difficulties cropped up that affected the company’s ability to accept credit cards or reserve hotel rooms. The company said in a statement that in order to protect data, they temporarily shut down certain systems.
A customer service representative at MGM Northfield Park told PlayOhio that most of the problems there were minor.
It would seem that was an accurate statement. In September, the Cleveland-area racino once again raked in more revenue than any other Ohio racino, as it usually does. But MGM Northfield Park was the only one to report a significant month-over-month revenue decline.
September revenue at MGM Northfield Park was $22.8 million, down from $26 million in August. The rest of the market of Ohio casinos was relatively flat month-over-month, reporting only slight increases or decreases.
It’s been 12 months since a year-over-year decline for MGM Northfield Park
Though Ohio racinos are on an upward growth trend year over year, a YoY decrease for a single month is not unheard of. But it has been rare for MGM Northfield Park. The last time MGM Northfield Park posted a YoY decrease for a particular month was October last year. That month, the racino brought in about $370,000 less than the previous October, representing a dip of just 1.5%.
- October 2021: $23,691,253
- October 2022: $23,320,890
In September, Northfield Park posted a YoY decrease closer to $900,000, or 3.8%. Every other Ohio racino showed YoY increases.
MGM’s $3.2 million drop from August to September was definitely an anomaly compared to the other racinos and MGM’s typical performance.
Making a quick calculation, the $26 million in revenue made in August means that MGM Northfield Park earned the better part of $1 million per day on average ($838.7K). The revenue dip in September suggests the racino lost about four days worth of revenue due to the cyberattack.
It’s unclear whether the lost revenue was directly due to disrupted systems and gaming machines, or to additional costs incurred to rectify the issues. Negative press surrounding the attack could have also kept some patrons away.
Other MGM Properties are reporting similar dips in September revenue.
In Maryland, MGM National Harbor also saw an uncommon contraction of revenues to the tune of -$6.4 million compared to the previous month. That was a 9.3% drop. September revenue there also dropped about 3% from the previous year.
In Massachusetts, MGM Springfield reported revenue dropped more than $6 million from August, which is a decline of more than 25%. However, the casino says the numbers are incomplete, and will be updated with the next month’s revenue report.
Overall, the few million dollars in lost revenue won’t hurt the casinos. The bigger concern is the stain that the cyberattack has left on the MGM brand name and on the casino industry as a whole, where security and consumer trust are paramount.
