One of the most often uttered statements from people researching anything is that correlation does not equate to causation. That’s an important consideration when observing gaming revenue in Delaware for November 2023.
Online casino win saw a double-digit increase compared to the same sum in November 2022 at the same time that segment of Delaware’s gambling industry saw an important change. That doesn’t necessarily mean that change was a crucial factor in the financial uptick, though.
Positive November returns for Delaware online casino play
Delaware’s status as one of just six states with legal real-money online casino games in action currently wrought it some additional gaming revenue in November. November 2023’s online casino win total represents an 11.5% improvement from the same month in 2022.
That was the best news for Delaware’s gambling industry for the month. Other gaming industry segments in the state didn’t perform as well in an annual comparison.
Win from slots and table games plus total gaming revenue were down marginally year-over-year.
However, sportsbook win fell by 62.3% compared to November 2022, coming in at about 7.1% of the money gambled at the state’s three casinos during November. Additionally, Delaware sports bettors gambled about 39.2% less in November 2023 than in the same month in 2022.
From more of a bird’s-eye view, trends are looking much the same. Online casino revenue continues to prove the Delaware gambling industry champion regarding growth. It’s unclear exactly why at this point, though.
Delaware gaming is trying to match a strong fiscal year
The Delaware Lottery reports gaming revenue for online casinos on a calendar year basis. In that way, it is unique. The reporting procedures for physical casino and sportsbook revenue use a fiscal year format instead.
For the first 11 months of 2023, Delaware’s online casinos have reaped over $12.9 million in win. That sum is a slight increase from the first 11 months 0f 2022.
While 2023 might end up the strongest year on record for online casinos in Delaware, it will likely be only a marginal increase from what is currently a record 2022.
At the same time, that’s better than the situation for other segments of the industry. For the first five months of the current fiscal year (July — November 2023), in comparison to the same period in FY2022-23, slots and table games revenue have slightly declined.
Additionally, the amount of money gambled on sporting events is down 18.7%. To make matters worse, sportsbooks’ win is down 36.8%. Thus, it looks like the previous fiscal year might retain its title in those categories.
A recent change might help Delaware’s online casino win account for more of those downturns.
Rush Street’s takeover seems to be going smoothly
In August, the Delaware Lottery announced that Rush Street Interactive (RSI) would take over operations of its online casino products. Since then, the numbers have fluctuated somewhat. For example, online casino win shrank by almost 18% in October year-over-year.
RSI operates online casinos in neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania in addition to Michigan. While it is not the market leader in any of those states, its robust platform could help draw more attention to the gaming vertical in Delaware.
It’s difficult to tell whether RSI’s takeover is behind November’s annual increase and, if so, to what degree. More data are necessary to form a correlation, much less establish causation. Regardless of the reason, Delaware’s gaming industry welcomes the improvement.