This week’s casino news focuses in on reporting from 2018. We’ve received back some full-year numbers in both Nevada and countrywide. So, let’s take a closer look and see how the casinos did:
289 Nevada Casinos Report Loss Of Revenue For 2019 But Numbers Are Misleading
They say that men lie, women lie but numbers don’t. In this particular case, while the numbers aren’t lying, they are quite misleading.
The state of Nevada has reported back on 2018 revenues and profits from their casinos and the results are surprising. The 289 main Nevada casinos, which represent large-scale business activity in the state (casinos which pulled in more than $1 million in revenue) reported a loss of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2018. That comes despite a record revenue total of $27.1 billion.
If you’re confused, the answer is quite simple. While most of the casinos did great, it was Caesars Entertainment that dragged down the class. They underwent a costly and structurally difficult reorganization process after emerging from an $18 billion bankruptcy. This incurred expenses considerable enough to drive the overall number into negative territory.
Focusing on the positives (the revenue), the final number of $27.1 billion came not only from gaming, but hotel rooms, food, drink, and other collected sources. The flat year-over-year grown from 2017 was at 3.6 percent, so that’s healthy. The issue was the Caesars dragged everybody down.
American Casinos Rake In Over $42 Billion in Gaming Wins in 2018
Sticking with 2018 reports, the numbers are in on commercial gaming countrywide and the results are good. In 2018, casinos collected $42.7 billion in gaming win last year, according to the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Center for Gaming Research. The figure was up three percent over 2017’s $41.5 billion number.
Nevada casinos, unsurprisingly, led the way with $11.9 billion in winnings, an increase of 2.9 percent over 2017. Sports betting in particular was a big factor in this growth, with sports betting activity growing 21 percent over the previous year. This is a clear product of the legalization of sports betting in several U.S. states in 2018, following a Supreme Court ruling which lifted a longstanding prohibition on sports betting.
Five states in 2018 accumulated gaming win increases of at least three percent and all took in revenues of at least $1.4 billion. New Jersey gained $2.9 billion, a 9.2-percent increase from 2017, Maryland hauled in $1.7 billion, an 8.1-percent jump, Illinois collected $2.8 billion, a 6.4-percent bump, Ohio took in $1.8 billion, a 4.9-percent improvement and Michigan amassed $1.4 billion, a 3.1-percent boost.
Indiana Legislature Considers Legislation Which Would Legalize Sports Betting
Speaking of casinos who are looking to loosen up the gaming laws, Indiana could be next. Since the Supreme Court opened the door for sports betting, there has been a state-by-state fight to legalize it. Right now, Indiana is wrestling with the issue.
Legislation has made its way through a state Senate committee which, if approved by the whole of the state legislature, would make Indiana the latest state to legalize sports betting. The legislation also involves the establishment of two new casinos in the state, which first allowed Riverboat casinos on Lake Michigan and the Ohio River in 1993. Tussles over the two proposed casinos and the separate push for sports betting pose various complications for the legislation. Making it through Senate committee was merely the first step in a long and difficult process.