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Missouri casinos bounced back from a slow April, growing revenue by around $7 million month-on-month, according to the latest data from the Missouri Gaming Commission. May’s growth was a decent elixir for a slow April in which monthly revenue dipped 11.1%.
Key takeaways
- Missouri legislators have fumbled multiple attempts at legalizing sports betting, which means Missouri online casinos are still a long way off.
- Land-based casino revenue grew 5% in May compared to April.
- Fiscal year revenue is down slightly compared to the same point in FY 2022-2023.
Missouri online casinos have a hard road ahead
Online casinos aren’t legal in Missouri. Consequently, the state is missing out on significant revenue dollars. Looking to the future, iGaming will need help if it’s going to be a reality in the Show Me State.
Typically, states legalize sports betting before they legalize online casinos. Online sports betting eases lawmakers into the idea that online betting revenue streams are lucrative and can help cover any gaps in yearly budgets (and fund crucial state and local programs).
However, even with sports betting being legal in more than 30 states, only seven states have legal and active online casinos. Missouri is unlikely to be the eighth state.
Lawmakers have blown multiple attempts to legalize sports betting, turning an issue that dozens of states have handled relatively well into an absolute mess. Here’s how PlayUSA legislative affairs reporter Matthew Kredell explained the situation early this year when Missouri lawmakers were debating a sports betting bill:
“Usually it takes months for the Missouri Senate to break down into bickering and filibusters. This time, the animosity from the end of the last session, heightened by an election year, already has the Missouri Senate at a standstill.”
Because of the legislature’s inability to agree on sports betting laws, the issue is now likely to go to the ballot in November. If the voters say no to sports betting, it could take another two years for sports wagering to achieve legalization.
And if that’s the case, Missouri online casinos could take years to become a reality.
Several casinos continue hot streak as monthly revenue jumps more than $7 million
May was a month of streaks continuing and streaks ending for multiple casinos. Overall, revenue rose 5% to $163 million in May from $155.9 million in April 2024 Missouri gaming revenue.
On a casino-by-casino level, several properties kept their solid fiscal year going while others struggled to break bad cycles:
- Cape Girardeau: Posted its third consecutive month of 5% growth and has month-on-month increases in five of the past seven months.
- Bally’s KC: Had the biggest revenue increase in May at 11%, posted positive growth in nine of the past 11 months, and has five double-digit growth months over the past 11 months.
- Century Caruthersville: Positive revenue in nine of the past 11 months, four double-digit months in the past 11 months.
- Ameristar St. Charles: Broke streak of five straight negative months by posting 4% growth in May.
- Harrah’s KC: Five consecutive months of negative revenue growth.
| Casino | May 2024 | Year-on-Year % Change | April 2024 Revenue | Month-on-Month % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argosy | $14,919,556 | 4% | $13,902,115 | 7% |
| Isle of Capri Booneville | $7,597,736 | -1% | $7,342,057 | 3% |
| Century Casino Caruthersville | $4,119,024 | 5% | $4,018,300 | 3% |
| Hollywood Casino St. Louis | $21,261,492 | -3% | $19,775,069 | 8% |
| Harrah’s Kansas City | $13,915,883 | -2% | $12,785,882 | 9% |
| Century Casino Cape Girardeau | $5,952,348 | 5% | $6,102,862 | -2% |
| Bally’s Kansas City | $11,893,308 | 11% | $11,088,231 | 7% |
| Horseshoe St. Louis | $12,171,242 | -6% | $12,198,532 | 0% |
| Ameristar Kansas City | $17,120,440 | 2% | $16,340,822 | 5% |
| River City Casino | $21,479,930 | 2% | $21,282,770 | 1% |
| Mark Twain Casino | $3,152,975 | -1% | $2,942,373 | 7% |
| Ameristar St. Charles | $25,267,097 | 4% | $24,133,621 | 5% |
| St. Joseph Frontier Casino | $4,050,813 | 2% | $4,018,012 | 1% |
| Total | $162,987,285 | 1% | $155,930,647 | 5% |
While monthly and yearly revenue totals were up, casino traffic and total revenue were down this fiscal year compared to last. Casinos had 26.6 million admissions to their properties at this point in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
So far in FY 2023-2024, that number has dropped to around 26 million. Revenue has dropped around $29.4 million (2%) during that same period, too.
