The Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency has released its report for September 2021, revealing that total casino gaming revenues for the 2022 fiscal year are up by 19% to nearly $514m from $433m.
Video lottery terminals (VLTs) brought in the bulk of the figure, netting a gross revenue of more than $109m for the month, while revenues from table games only amounted to just over $56m.
In addition, casino gaming contributions stood at just shy of $69m, a more than $9m bump from September 2020’s $59.6m sum, with the lion’s share going to the state’s Education Trust Fund (ETF) at a little over $50m.
Other recipients included Maryland’s horseracing industry, local aid and small, minority, women-owned businesses.
The report also offered a breakdown of each of the state’s six licensed casinos, with the MGM-owned National Harbor claiming the top spot during a month that saw its revenues exceed $69m.
In a not-too-distant second place was the Live! Casino & Hotel at $56.4m, with the Horseshoe Casino trailing behind at $17.5m for third.
The remaining three casinos — Ocean Downs, Hollywood and Rocky Gap — took in $9m, $7.4m and $5.3m respectively.
All-in-all, this month pushes the cumulative revenue of Maryland’s Gaming Program to over $12.3bn, in the period from 2010 through to September 2021.
This comes amid a resurgence for traditional, brick-and-mortar casinos as they see business bounce back from the pandemic era lows of limited capacity and frequent closures.
Maryland’s operators had their own struggles, seeing major losses during the lockdowns of last year, with revenues for June 2020 of $34.9m, down from $142.9m for the same month in 2019.
