Ohio casinos and racinos brought in $206.7m in gambling revenue through July of 2022, falling just shy of a record previously set in the same month last year.
Although the eleven locations fell 2% short of the record, revenue is up 27% from July 2019′s total of $162.2m.
From a year-over-year standpoint, Ohio has steadily increased its revenue. At this point of the year, the four casinos and seven racinos have taken in $1.38bn, compared to $1.36bn this time last year.
In 2020, gambling revenue was at $669m due to the facilities being closed for several weeks. Gambling revenue is what the casinos and racinos make after paying out winnings but before taxes.
MGM Northfield Park had a revenue of $25.3m which is up 2.2% from $24.8m in July 2021.
JACK Cleveland Casino had revenue of $22.9m, falling 3.1% from $23.6m during the same month last year.
JACK Thistledown Racino had revenue of $15.8m, which is down 13.5% from $18.3m last year.
Recently it was revealed that a sports betting license could come to Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course and the Covelli Centre. This could provide Ohio with additional gambling revenue as the NFL season begins.
The state also announced that it was working on finalizing the rules for sports betting payouts. The rules proposed by the Ohio Lottery Commission have raised concerns from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the Ohio Grocers Association.
Small businesses feel that the proposed rules could cut them out of the revenue brought in by sports betting.
Ohio House Majority Leader Rep. Bill Seitz commented: "I am working with the groceries, the NFIB, and other groups and encourage the lottery commission to solve this problem between now and the first of the year."
