Ohio gaming revenue up

Casino Control Commission has revealed a growth of 1.9% in gaming revenue from the state's four casino resort operators year-on-year.

Total revenue amongst the Ohio casinos reached $548.8m, which represented an eight-month increase of $5.9m in comparison with the same period in 2016.

The Hollywood Casino Toledo along with the Hollywood Casino Columbus both reported impressive growth. Toledo saw its August revenue rise 10.9% to a total of $16.2m while Columbus’ grew by 8.4% $18.2m.

These results come after several years of market saturation which had seen steady declines to the Hollywood franchise casinos annually since 2012 with the opening of each new casino in the state.

The four casinos will be happy that the market has stabilised and is beginning to grow again. Although the Commission’s results also serve as a warning to other states who rush into the opening of several casinos in search of state funds.

Jack’s Casino’s also grew in what was clearly a strong 2017 for the state's casino gambling revenues. Both the Cincinnati and the Cleveland casino saw rises of 5.4% and 0.8% respectively. However, despite this annual increase Jack's Cleveland’s $16.8m in 2017 is still far below its opening year results of $22.8m in 2012.

The Ohio casino industry is heading in the right direction with gambling revenue growth being recorded all around its four resort casinos. It is still hard to tell whether the heights of 2012 will be reached again and whether or not more market saturation might damage future growth in the state.