Ohio's gambling revenue nearly halved in June after mid-month reopenings

Despite just getting restarted after mid-June casino and racino reopenings, Ohio’s gambling revenue of $76.7 million was just under half of what it was ($161.4 million) for the entire month of June a year ago.

The three months of closings due to the coronavirus has left the industry nearly $500 million in gambling revenue behind where it was at the same point last year. Revenue at the four casinos was down 52% to $34 million for the month, the Ohio Casino Control Commission reported Tuesday. Revenue for the seven racinos fell 53% to $42.6 million, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.

This translates to a total loss of about $160 million in fees and taxes the facilities pay the state, much of which is forwarded to local governments and schools, Cleveland.com reports.

Gambling revenue for the first half of the year totaled $487.5 million, just half of the $970.9 million collected during the first six months of 2019. About a third of this money is turned over to the state in fees and taxes.

The 11 casinos and racinos were closed from March 14 through June 18 under the governor’s order to restrict mass gatherings. The industry had been off to a record start to the year before the closings.

In the Cleveland-Akron market, the drop was bigger for the two largest operations: JACK Cleveland Casino and MGM Northfield Park. The latter had $8.5 million in revenue for the partial month of June, down 59% from $20.8 million for the full month in 2019.

JACK Cleveland Casino had $6.6 million in June, down 62% from $17.6 million a year ago. JACK Thistledown Racino had $6.7 million June revenue, down 53% from $11.9 million.