Mississippi sports betting boosts casino revenue
The NCAA basketball tournament boosted casino revenue as Mississippi sports betting pushed a 13% growth.
US.- Mississippi sports betting has boosted casino revenue to a 13% growth in March 2018. According to figures released this month, figures reached US$124 million.
“They saw really good numbers associated with March Madness,” said Jay McDaniel, deputy director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission. The commission has yet to conduct a formal study of the impact of sports betting, but McDaniel said there’s little doubt what’s driving the trend, with casinos statewide up nearly 4% in the past 12 months. “We figure that it’s got to be sports betting,” he said.
Casino managers and state officials believe sports bettors are also spending money in casino hotels and restaurants and doing other gambling.
“Mississippi sports betting is certainly contributing the most to our increased revenue, but it is hard to put actual numbers on the non-gaming components,” Chett Harrison, general manager of Golden Nugget Biloxi casino, wrote in an email. “We do know that with those who are sports betting are staying the night, gambling, and eating at our hotel and casino.”
Continued growth
In February, casino revenue went up 2% to US$173 million, yet again thriving on the sports betting vertical. Gaming halls statewide continue to improve, as they raked US$3 million more than February 2018’s US$170 million.
In 2018 as a whole, statewide revenue increased 1.7% to US$2.1 billion, up approximately US$45 million from 2017. Despite the positive results, last year’s performance wasn’t near historical highs due to Mississippi sports betting hadn’t been legalised yet.
