Despite falling month to month, August revenue was up an impressive 29.6% year-on-year.
Illinois collected $25.6m in taxes from casino earnings.
The main culprit in the lower monthly revenue was a lack of visitors at casinos. Admissions, or the number of people who step foot into a casino, was 720,000 in August compared to 796,000 in July.
One explanation for the decrease in admissions is the rising Covid-19 rate in the Lincoln State. In early July Illinois was averaging less than 400 cases over a seven-day average. By mid-August, the state was reporting well over 3,000 cases across the same average.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines, located in a northern Chicago suburb, was far and away the market leader, netting $41.4m for a 12.7% decrease from July. Rivers reported electronic gaming devices (EGD) revenue of $25.9m and table games revenue of $15.6m.
Grand Victoria Casino, located in northwest Chicagoland, was second in revenue with $13.6m, down 3.5% from July. Right behind was Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel with $13m for a 9.4% decrease m-o-m.
Illinois gaming is also heavily dependent on video game terminals, of which there are more than 40,000 machines across the state. In August VGTs generated $217m, a decline of 2.9% from July. The state received $63m in taxes from VGT revenue while $10.9m went to local municipalities.
