As the first quarter of 2023 comes to a close, operators, analysts, patrons and everyone in between are keeping a close eye on the health of the U.S. gaming industry, amid fears of recession and reduced discretionary spending.
Perhaps the simplest way to do so is to track revenues by state—March, however, was difficult to analyze, given the variance of results among markets.
Below is a rundown of the figures reported in Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, which represent some of the biggest gaming markets in the U.S. outside of Nevada.
Louisiana: According to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB), the state reported $218.3 million in total gaming revenue last month, a decrease of 1.4 percent year-over-year.
Broken down by market, Lake Charles properties increased 8.5 percent year-over-year to $83.6 million in March. L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles was the top performer in the market, bringing in $30.2 million, slightly higher than Golden Nugget Lake Charles’ total of $29.4 million.
New Orleans properties had an alarming year-over-year decrease of 11.5 percent, down to $47.3 million. Harrah’s New Orleans was easily the top performer, bringing in $22 million, and Boomtown Casino & Hotel was next up, with $10.9 million.
The Bossier City/ Shreveport market reported a total of $57 million, a 1.6 percent decrease year-over-year. Margaritaville Resort Casino claimed the top spot with $20.3 million, and Horseshoe Bossier City came in second with $13.7 million.
Baton Rouge also reported a year-over-year decrease, as its total of $23.9 million represented a 6.9 percent drop. L’Auberge Casino Hotel was far and away the top producer at $17.8 million—Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge was next at $5 million.
Sports betting in the state contributed revenue of $32.3 million—$28.8 million of that was online, with the remaining $3.5 million coming from retail betting.
New Jersey: According to numbers released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE), the New Jersey industry generated $487 million in March revenue, a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Brick-and-mortar revenue brought in $228.6 million in March, which is slightly higher than the $223.1 million generated in 2019 before the pandemic. Despite the challenges, March was the best month for Atlantic City’s casinos in the past decade.
Borgata claimed the top spot with $113.5 million—Golden Nugget was next at $55 million, followed by Hard Rock’s $49.7 million.
Online gambling revenue reached $165.7 million, up 18 percent from a year ago. Sports betting revenue also contributed $46.6 million, up significantly from the previous year. However, third-party providers such as sportsbooks and tech platforms share these revenue streams, reducing the profits for the casinos.
Pennsylvania: Per the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the Keystone State had a very healthy March, with total gaming revenue coming at $515.3 million. That is a year-over-year increase of 11.35 percent.
The top three properties in the state last month were, in order, Hollywood Casino at Penn National in Grantsville, Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia and Parx Casino in Philadelphia. Hollywood posted $80.9 million, Valley Forge came in at $65.8 million and Parx kicked in $60.4 million.
Slot revenue came in at an impressive $225.4 million, an increase of just under 5 percent from the same period last year. Parx Casino led all properties in slot revenue at $35.1 million.
iGaming brought in $148.2 million in revenue, a sharp 25 percent increase from March of last year. Hollywood Casino at Penn National claimed the top spot at $62.3 million, with Valley Forge coming in second with $31.8 million.
Sports betting revenue totaled $50.6 million, a huge 66.6 percent increase year-over-year. Valley Forge was the top producer at $23.9 million, and Hollywood Casino at the Meadows was next with $12.3 million.
Michigan: The latest round of data from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) showed that the state’s iGaming and online sports betting operators brought in total adjusted revenues of $186.1 million last month—$154.65 million of that from iGaming and $31.44 million from online sports betting. Those figures represent year-over-year increases of 30.4 percent and 114.5 percent, respectively.
While revenue figures from the state’s tribal casinos were not available, the MGCB reported that Detroit’s three commercial casinos brought in $119.2 million in total revenue for March, a decrease of 2.93 percent year-over-year.
MGM led in terms of market share at 46 percent ($54.4 million), but Hollywood Casino at Greektown reported the biggest increase, with a 7.5 percent gain year-over-year to $27.6 million. Motor City’s $35.8 million represented a 9 percent decrease from the same period last year.
Retail sports betting was rather lackluster, as the three properties’ total adjusted revenue of $1.4 million was a year-over-year decrease of 26.8 percent.
