Arkansas casinos lose $1.4bn in revenue during pandemic

Casinos are now putting more terminals in operation in an attempt to make up for revenue losses.

US.- A report shows that Arkansas’ three casinos lost a total of $1.4 billion in revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The state has three casino properties: Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, the Saracen Casino Resort and the Southland Casino Racing property. All sites were closed for nine weeks from March to mid-May due to the pandemic.

From March and July, all three saw significant falls in gross gaming revenue. Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort’s revenue fell by $743 million and Southland Casino Racing property’s revenue dropped by $700 million.

Saracen Casino Resort could not provide yearly comparisons since it opened in September last year, but from March to July took just $128 million in revenue, 42 per cent less than the $312 million it took in the first five months of operations.

Revenues are already showing improvements as casinos take measures to boost profits, such as putting more terminals in operation.

Scott Hardin, member of the Arkansas Finance and Administration Department, told KATV: “We really have been impressed with the steps that all of the casinos have been taking. Obviously, the revenue is not what it would normally be but that’s to be expected.

“I think within the next two to three months, we could see the normal levels of revenue we saw this time last year.”