Late Friday, March 13, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an order banning gatherings of 100 or more people in an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, Ohio’s four casinos and seven racinos were given a choice: either to close or limit the total number of people in the buildings, including employees, to under 100. DeWine’s spokesman Dan Tierney said, “The governor was clear that the order applies to casinos,” as well as racinos.
MGM Northfield Park, the state’s busiest racino with 2,200 video lottery terminals, was first to announce it would suspend operations Friday at midnight. JACK Cleveland Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino in North Randall later announced they also would close that evening. All venues, including the state’s four casinos–JACK Cleveland Casino, JACK Cincinnati Casino, Hollywood Casino Columbus and Hollywood Casino Toledo—also voluntarily closed on Saturday.
The state’s other racinos are Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs in Columbus, Hollywood Gaming Dayton, Hollywood Mahoning Valley and Miami Valley Gaming in Lebanon near Cincinnati.
Ohio’s gambling industry was heading to a record year with revenue at the 11 facilities, after payouts, up 14.6 percent to $338.9 million through February.
