Maryland’s six casinos generated a single-month record $163.2 million in gaming revenue in March, $5 million more than the previous record set in October, and up almost 9 percent from March of last year.
The good news comes at the same time the legal window has officially closed on the legislature approving sports betting as a new game under the state lottery—which means sports betting will not be added to the revenue of the state’s casinos until 2021 at the earliest.
The record results took off some of the sting. MGM National Harbor accounted for almost 39 percent of the total, with gaming revenue from its slots and table games of $62.8 million, up 3.9 percent from a year ago.
“A record-setting performance in March is great news for the state, and for the many good causes that casino revenue supports,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica, according to Washington, D.C. news station WTOP.
Contributions to the state from the casinos in March totaled $67.4 million, of which $50.6 million will go to the state’s Education Trust Fund.
Live! Casino and Hotel at Arundel Mills, which recently opened its hotel tower, was also one of the March winners, with gaming revenue up 19 percent from a year ago to $55.9 million. Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino had $25.6 million in March gaming revenue, up 3 percent from a year ago.
Gaming revenue was also up at the state’s three smaller casinos with Hollywood Casino Perryville, Ocean Downs and Rocky Gap Casino Resort reporting $7.2 million, $6.6 million, and $5.2 million in gaming revenue respectively.
The state legislature’s failure to agree on a bill that would add sports betting as a lottery game means lawmakers will need to pass a bill next year to place the issue on the November 2020 ballot as a referendum for a constitutional amendment.
“We made some progress, but right now, the general feeling is that there is some debate if this particular expansion of gambling has to be done through a constitutional amendment,” Del. Eric Ebersole (D-District 12), who sponsored HB 963, the lottery bill, told Sports Handle. “The answer is we’re not getting an answer. The attorney general doesn’t have an answer. One of the vehicles we have is the lottery and the thought was maybe, but people here thought it was end run. The feeling is the workaround is really not legit, so we’ll have to do a referendum.”
