By the time that 2023 has spun out, Delaware’s legal real-money online casinos may have recorded their best track ever. They already did so in terms of the amount of money they won from players during the month of May.
Online casinos in Delaware combined to win more than $1.2 million in May 2023. It’s a new high for the state during the month and offsets a bit of a dive in other gaming activity. It also keeps Delaware’s online casinos on track for an unprecedented calendar year.
Delaware’s online casinos hit record high for May in 2023
Delaware’s online casino licensees have never had a better month in May in terms of the amount of money they won from players than they did in this year’s iteration of the month. The $1,231,751.60 in revenue is 7.9% better than the previous May record from 2020.
May’s total represented further momentum for online casinos in Delaware as well. The licensees are on pace for their most lucrative calendar year ever. Through the first five months of 2023, online casino win is about 16.2% ahead of 2022’s sum for the same period.
Brick-and-mortar gaming in Delaware for the month hasn’t shown such flashy growth trends. In fact, revenues from in-person gambling at the state’s three physical casinos were significantly down from past performances.
Delaware’s land-based casinos struggle to keep pace in May
Delaware is home to three brick-and-mortar casinos.
- Bally’s Dover
- Delaware Park
- Harrington Casino & Raceway
In May, those casinos reported a total of $37.3 million in revenue from their in-person sports betting, poker, slots, and table games. That represents a decline of around 21.9% from May 2022. According to the Delaware Lottery, the biggest annual decline came from sportsbook win.
The casinos’ revenue was down about 50.5% compared to what they won in May 2022. At the same time, slot win was down 19.3% and table game revenue dropped 37.8% year-over-year. That meant a decline in tax revenue for the state as well.
From poker, slots, sports betting, and table games, Delaware collected $13.3 million in May, down from both April Delaware gaming taxes and the same for May of last year. However, escalating online casino revenue is more than making up for these land-based losses.
By the time 2023 ends, the state could still be asking for its online casino licensees to play it again.
