Casino revenue rise in Mississippi

The legalisation of sports betting in the state has improved casino revenue in Mississippi.

US.- Mississippi casinos registered positive results during May operations, as gambling facilities continued a winning streak. This performance was driven by the legalisation of sports betting, which has improved numbers in the state.

The figures released by the local gambling regulator, the Mississippi Gaming Commission, showed that gamblers lost US$184 million in May, which is a 2% increase when compared to the same month last year. That figure includes the US$1.2 million in sports betting revenue at local casinos.

The 15 casinos in Mississippi that reported their revenue figures to the commission experienced a 2% increase from May 2018 to US$74 million. May 2019 was the ninth increase in 10 months for the state, and it comes despite the closing of Tunica County casino in January. Another facility will close its doors on Sunday.

Furthermore, the 12 coastal casinos also improved their numbers in May 2019, as they saw a 2.2% increase in revenue to US$109 million. The figure represents the sixth year of revenue growth in the area.

Despite the positive streak that came with sports betting in Mississippi, the modality reported a decrease in May. Regulated sports betting in the state registered a month-on-month decline of 41.1% to US$1.2 million in May.

According to the regulator’s report, total handle in the northern, coastal and central regions decreased 9.1% to US$17.4 million. Market hold fell from 10.7% in April to 6.8% in May.

Coastal casinos once again registered the biggest handle in May, as they totalled US$11 million, or 62.9% of amounts wagered. They also registered 52.5% of the revenue, which totalled US$626 million. On the other hand, handle was down 7.4% month-on-month and revenue decreased 44%.