With a revenue of $92.5 million in April and $91.6 million in March 2021, Ohio’s gaming industry has gone past its previous best numbers of $84.3 million, which it did back in March 2013
The revenue figures for May 2020 weren’t as promising as April’s, but it still managed to reach a decent figure of $86.8 million, which was 18% over May 2019.
Although the biggest gainers were the Jack properties, their downtown casino witnessed their most significant jump of a phenomenal 25% over their last year’s business, and Jack Thistledown did a startling 50 percent over its previous two year’s revenue.
Why are the Numbers Going Up
Factors such as extended stimulus money and prolonged unemployment wages have played a significant role in attaining these numbers.
Casey Clark, Senior Vice President with the American Gaming Association, said,
The American Gaming Association believes that even with these wages and stimulus coming to an end, the numbers are expected to hold up in the summers.
Confidence in Sports betting
The rise in spending on gambling also comes as the State Senate continues to hold hearings on sports betting on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The State Lawmakers have just 23 days left for the time they had asked their supporters to fulfill their commitment to making sports betting legal.
The State Senator Niraj Antani (R-Montgomery), a co-sponsor of the bill. said, “I will commit to you that if this isn’t done by June 30, you can come into my office and yell at me,”
As proposed, sports betting will be taxed at 10%; the taxed amount will be going into education, as the casino revenues are already taxed at 33%, with that money going to aid cities and counties in the state.
With 33% taxation on casinos means $86.8million in revenue earned by the casinos, 28.6 million will be used for such aid that wasn’t available last year due to pandemic.
