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Mississippi is back on track.
The state’s casinos bounced back from sub-$200 million numbers in April to post $209.6 million in May revenue. The figure is the second highest of the year and bodes well for Mississippi casinos as we head into the summer.
Key takeaways
- Mississippi online casinos could have generated more than $50 million in May, according to predictions.
- Land-based casinos tallied nearly $210 million in revenue this past month.
- Monthly revenue has increased in three of the past four months.
- It’s possible that June revenue could dip below $200 million.
Mississippi online casinos? Not anytime soon
At this point, the chances of online casinos becoming a reality in Mississippi in the next couple of years are about as realistic as Mississippi State winning the FBS national championship next February.
The South is not a hospitable environment for online casinos, as not a single state has legal iGaming. But that’s not the only thing standing in the way.
Typically, states legalize online sports betting before online casinos. Mississippi lawmakers haven’t been able to crack the conservative code, failing at an attempt to bring online sports betting to the state earlier this year.
PlayUSA Legal Analyst Matthew Kredell predicts that Mississippi will legalize online casinos at some point if only because the state is gaining sports betting revenue from physical sportsbooks at a rate of at least 10% over the past two years.
If lawmakers decide to legalize online casinos in Mississippi, the revenue potential is considerable. Based on averages of states with legal online casinos that reported revenue in May, PlayUSA predicts Mississippi iGaming could’ve generated more than $50 million.
| State | May online casino revenue | Population (according to 2023 Census Bureau data) | Per-capita revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $216.5 million | 13 million | $16.65 |
| Michigan | $198.6 million | 10 million | $19.86 |
| New Jersey | $192.1 million | 9.3 million | $20.65 |
| Connecticut | $46.3 million | 3.6 million | $12.86 |
| West Virginia | $17.9 million | 1.8 million | $9.94 |
| Delaware | $3.9 million | 1 million | $3.90 |
| Average | $112.6 million | 6.5 million | $17.32 |
| Mississippi (projected) | $50.2 million | 2.9 million | $17.32 |
Casino revenue tops April numbers by more than $17 million
After seeing revenue fall more than $40 million from March to April, Mississippi casinos were due for good news. While May’s revenue jump didn’t balance out the April decrease, they did provide a positive outlook for the summer.
The state’s three casino regions — Central, Coastal, and Northern — generated $209.6 million compared to $192 million recorded for Mississippi’s April 2024 gaming revenue. That boost was good enough for a 9.2% increase.
Looking at the data reported by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, monthly numbers were up but revenue was down 0.29% compared to May 2023. Here’s a quick look at how Mississippi casino revenue has fared over the past 13 months:
| Month | Central Region | Coastal Region | Northern Region | Total | Month-on-Month Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | $27,556,577.93 | $136,496,695.56 | $45,576,001.09 | $209,629,274.58 | 9.2% |
| April 2024 | $26,164,435.34 | $124,186,660.28 | $41,668,811.57 | $192,019,907.19 | -18.3% |
| March 2024 | $32,431,906.56 | $148,961,409.22 | $53,748,956.84 | $235,142,272.62 | 13.8% |
| February 2024 | $27,903,770.73 | $131,454,852.35 | $47,318,074.81 | $206,676,697.89 | 14.6% |
| January 2024 | $23,039,308.50 | $120,876,868.66 | $36,360,257.12 | $180,276,434.28 | -18.0% |
| December | $29,992,289.77 | $139,043,632.90 | $50,798,684.28 | $219,834,606.95 | 14.8% |
| November | $24,379,325.26 | $122,261,516.48 | $44,922,664.80 | $191,563,506.54 | 0.3% |
| October | $24,473,122.15 | $122,565,538.38 | $44,027,006.32 | $191,065,666.85 | -9.0% |
| September | $27,443,096.80 | $135,392,235.14 | $47,153,784.43 | $209,989,116.37 | 5.7% |
| August | $25,069,515.30 | $128,565,902.48 | $45,108,528.07 | $198,743,945.85 | -9.1% |
| July | $27,027,992.15 | $143,196,496.77 | $48,375,085.32 | $218,599,574.24 | 10.3% |
| June | $26,560,323.47 | $127,341,857.77 | $44,286,194.83 | $198,188,376.07 | -5.7% |
| May | $27,168,292.70 | $135,395,413.06 | $47,677,447.47 | $210,241,153.23 | 0.4% |
| Total | $349,209,956.66 | $1,715,739,079.05 | $597,021,496.95 | $2,661,970,532.66 |
What’s ahead for Mississippi casinos?
If trends from 2023 hold up in the following months, then we should see up-and-down revenue numbers. From June 2023 to November 2023, monthly revenue dropped and increased three consecutive times.
Using June 2023’s monthly growth as a benchmark, we could see revenue fall from $209.6 million in May to around $197.7 million in June. Revenue will likely jump in July, with 2023 monthly data indicating that revenue could increase as much as $20 million.
