Report: Maine casino revenue declines among nation's worst

Courtesy / Neokraft Oxford Casino is one of two casinos in Maine, along with Hollywood Casino in Bangor.

Write a Comment

By Staff

Maine’s casinos this year have had the fourth-largest drop in revenue among states with gaming halls, with a 55% decline.

A report by Safe Betting Sites, a London-based gaming research firm, shows that casinos in 24 states that allow gaming had a revenue decline of $12 billion, a 36.5% drop through the first three quarters of the year. Total revenue recorded was $21.6 billion, down from $33.99 billion in the same period last year.

Maine’s casinos were shutdown from mid-March until the second week of July. Since then, they’ve operated with increased sanitation procedures and social distancing guidelines, while reducing the number of people allowed inside.

In the nine months ending Sept. 30, Maine’s two casinos, Oxford Casino and Hollywood Casino (in Bangor), had revenue of $49.76 million, a decline of 54.91%. More detail on the casino numbers, including revenue through Nov. 17, is available at the state Gambling Control Unit website.

Nationwide, New Mexico saw the biggest revenue decline from January through September, of 71.91%, followed by New York, down 66.88%; Michigan, down 57.99%; Maine, down 54.91%; and Rhode Island, down 51.18%.

“It is worth mentioning that the casino industry in the United States has been at the forefront of implementing rigorous, innovative protocols that have allowed the vast majority of entities to reopen in different states,” the report said. “With business returning to some normalcy, sportsbooks are witnessing an increased action translating to a steady recovery path of the industry.”

Without stimulus checks the losses might have been worse, the report said.