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After watching revenue fall more than $4 million in June, Ohio casinos barely steadied the ship in July.
Casino win was $82 million in July, up $369,603 and 0.5% over Ohio’s June 2024 gaming revenue.
Key takeaways
- Ohio casino revenue rose 0.5% to $82 million in July.
- A lawmaker introduced an online casino bill he hopes will kickstart a full-fledged legislative effort to bring legal iGaming to Ohio.
- If online casinos become legal in Ohio, the state would likely be the biggest market in the country.
- Jack Cleveland had an excellent July; its revenue rose 7.6%.
Sen. Niraj Antani files Ohio’s first online casino bill
At first glance, Ohio is an uninspiring state for casino revenue but a rockstar for sports betting handle. However, the state is a sleeping giant for online casinos, an industry that could double what gaming operators get from land-based casino gaming.
And, up until the past couple of weeks, it seemed like online casinos were a long way off — sports betting has been the focus in the Buckeye State. However, Ohio Sen. Niraj Antani filed a bill last week that would legalize 11 online casinos (one each for the state’s four casinos and seven racinos).
While Niraj doesn’t expect the bill to go anywhere, he told PlayUSA legislative reporter Matthew Kredell that he felt it was important to kickstart the process.
How important? If Ohio online casinos were legalized, it would instantly become the top casino market in the country. That’s based on available July revenue numbers from six of the state’s seven online casino markets:
| State | July online casino revenue | Population (according to 2023 Census Bureau data) | Per-capita revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $215.3 million | 13 million | $16.56 |
| New Jersey | $195.4 million | 9.3 million | $21.01 |
| Michigan | $191.4 million | 10 million | $19.14 |
| Connecticut | $35.7 million | 3.6 million | $9.92 |
| West Virginia | $14.4 million | 1.8 million | $8.00 |
| Delaware | $5.2 million | 1 million | $5.20 |
| Average | $109.6 million | 6.5 million | $16.86 |
| Ohio (projected) | $200.6 million | 11.9 million | $16.86 |
Jack Cleveland’s big month keeps July’s overall revenue afloat
July could’ve been a lot worse for Ohio’s four land-based casinos, but a strong effort from Jack Cleveland helped avoid another month of revenue loss.
The property saw revenue rise from $19.7 million in June to $21.2 million in July, up $1.5 million and a 7.6% increase over June. Hollywood Toledo played a key role in keeping July positive, posting a 3.4% gain.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s July 2024 revenue report shows that Hollywood Columbus and Hard Rock Cincinnati struggled to keep up with their June numbers.
| Casino | July total revenue | June total revenue | $ change | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Cleveland | $21,200,650 | $19,704,955 | $1,495,695 | 7.59% |
| Hollywood Columbus | $22,228,294 | $23,411,020 | -$1,182,726 | -5.05% |
| Hard Rock Cincinnati | $19,666,940 | $20,227,940 | -$561,000 | -2.77% |
| Hollywood Toledo | $18,863,618 | $18,245,984 | $617,634 | 3.39% |
| Total | $81,959,502 | $81,589,899 | $369,603 | 0.45% |
Year-on-year, revenue fell 4.6% from July 2023’s $86 million.
Looking ahead to next month, revenue will likely fall below $80 million. From July 2023 to August 2023, casino wins fell 4.6%.
Using that figure as a guide, August 2024 revenue could dip as low as $78.4 million.
