December has been quite disappointing for Maryland. The six casinos of Maryland were already working on reduced capacity. However, the worsening situation of the COVID19 in the state further limited the capacity.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming Agency released figures on Tuesday and reported revenue of $119.4mn in December. This is 20% down from last year same month and $11mn below November 2020.
MGM National Harbor and Cordish Gaming’s Live! Casino and Hotel saw their capacity reduced from 50% to 25%. Horseshoe Baltimore was already working on 25% capacity since the beginning of December.
But despite all those, National Harbor reported revenue of $48.5mn, down 22.5% year-on-year. Live! was down 17.2% and reported revenue of $49.2mn. The horseshoe was down by one-third and reported revenue of $12.7mn.
Hollywood Casino Perryville slipped by 8.4% to $6.6mn, Ocean Downs was down by 10% to $15.1mn and Rocky Gap was down by 16.3% to $3.5mn.
The gaming revenue for the state fell by $10.8mn to $49.8mn in December. The state wants to revisit the capacity before January 17. However, with 54 new COVID19 deaths on Tuesday, the prospect does not look very bright.
Maryland legislature would commence next week in 2021. The casino operators are hoping for quick movements on the sports betting legalization after it was approved by the voters last November.
There are few things that need to be sorted out by the legislatures about who gets to offer betting, online-only operators or land-based licenses to be extended, tax, license fees among others. The session ends mid-April and Maryland would look to finalize everything by then.
Inspirational Link: https://calvinayre.com/2021/01/06/casino/maryland-casinos-survive-capacity-constrained-december/
