Massachusetts casinos stopped a three-month skid in July, reporting yearly gains for the first time since March.
The state’s three casinos fell just shy of nine figures in gross gaming revenue (GGR), winning $99,470,138 from slot machines and table games. It was their fourth-best total in the last year.
July’s GGR was $3.4 million (about 3.5%) greater than June’s $96.1 million and $827K better than July 2023, when casinos reported $98.6 million.
Massachusetts casinos report $96.1 million in July
The Bay State has three retail casinos, including two Category 1 resort-casinos and one Category 2 slots parlor. Massachusetts online casinos are illegal, but sweepstakes and social casinos are allowed.
The three retail casinos batted one thousand in July, growing their slot and table game revenues compared to the previous month and year.
Encore Boston Harbor, the largest casino in Massachusetts, reported $61.5 million in July GGR. This was a 1.8% improvement from June ($60.4 million) and 0.3% better than July 2023 ($61.3 million).
Encore reported $35.7 million in slot machine GGR, up 2.2% monthly (from $34.9 million) and 2.6% yearly (from $34.8 million). Its table game revenue totaled $25.8 million, up 1.3% monthly (from $25.5 million) and down 2.7% yearly (from $26.5 million).
MGM Springfield had $23.6 million in July GGR. Slots accounted for the majority of that total, $18.8 million, up 7.5% monthly from ($17.5 million) but $33K less (-0.2%) than July 2023. Table games comprised the remaining $4.8 million, up +7.6% monthly (from $4.4 million) and 2.1% yearly (from $4.7 million).
Plainridge Park Casino, which only offers slot machines, reported $14.4 million in July GGR. This was a 4.5% increase from June casino revenue ($13.8 million) and 4% better than July 2023 ($13.9 million).
Casinos contribute $28.3 million in July tax revenue
Massachusetts casinos paid $28.3 million in July gaming taxes.
Encore Boston Harbor was responsible for $15.4 million, more than half that total. Plainridge Park Casino owed $7.1 million, and MGM Springfield the final $5.9 million.
The state charges a 25% tax on GGR for Category 1 casinos. This includes Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield.
Taxes from Category 1 casinos support a dozen funds in the state, including local aid, transportation and infrastructure, and education.
Category 2 casinos must pay a 49% tax on slot winnings. Plainridge Park Casino is the only Category 2 facility in Massachusetts, and its higher tax rate resulted in a larger tax bill than MGM Springfield despite a significantly lower GGR in July.
Nearly all of Category 2’s taxes (82%) go to local aid. The remaining 18% contributes to the state’s racehorse development fund.
Massachusetts casinos hit a revenue plateau
The last few years have presented a plateau for Massachusetts gaming revenue.
While March 2024 set a record with almost $111.1 million in GGR, casinos have only reported GGR exceeding $100 million seven times in the last two years. Every other month has produced at least $90 million in GGR.
Furthermore, six of those months had totals between $90 million and $95 million. The remaining 11 months’ GGR was between $95 million and $100 million.
Historically speaking, the next four months have produced average revenue totals. Chances are, Massachusetts won’t break $100 million mark again until December.
