Ohio casino revenues down 8% YoY in January, hit by ongoing curfew

Ohio’s 11 casinos and racinos reported a $14.1 million drop on gambling revenue in January as compared to the same month of the previous year. They are still operating under a state-ordered coronavirus-related curfew that forces late evening closings.

Gambling revenue totaled $153.4 million, down nearly 8% from a January record of $167 million in 2020, according to reports released Monday by the state’s casino control and lottery commissions. MGM Northfield Park was the busiest gambling venue in the state last month.

The industry enjoyed records each month in 2020 when they were fully open, but revenue was down 26% overall last year because of three months of full closings in the spring and curfews that began in November, as reported by Cleveland.com.

In the Greater Cleveland market, January revenue was $18 million at MGM Northfield Park, down from $22.9 million in January 2020; $16.5 million at JACK Casino Cleveland, down from $18.3 million; $13.3 million at JACK Thistledown Racino, up from $11.8 million.

The only three venues to post higher revenues in January over the same month a year ago were JACK Thistledown Racino, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway and Hollywood Casino Toledo. Toledo revenue was up sharply whenever the Detroit casinos were closed in 2020. The Detroit facilities reopened in late December, but business remained strong in Toledo during January.