The COVID-19 pandemic limited recreation and leisure activities, but Ohio Lottery products provided a socially distanced form of entertainment that customers really enjoy, said Danielle Frizzi-Babb, the Ohio Lottery’s deputy director of communications.
Ohio’s racinos “implemented deep cleaning, air filtration and rearranged floor spacing to provide a socially-distanced experience that other businesses may not have been capable of, and consumers responded positively,” she said.
Until the pandemic hit, the Dayton racetrack casino’s gross gambling revenue (net win) from its video lottery terminals increased every year since the facility opened in late 2014, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.
Net win is the net revenue remaining after prizes to players are paid out ― or credits played minus credits won and promotional credits, lottery officials say.
But the racino temporarily closed between mid-March and mid-June of 2020 because of the public health emergency.
Multiple months of closure contributed to a more than 20% decline in revenues from the video lottery terminals last year, compared to 2019.
Ohio’s seven racinos were on track for another record-setting year until they were shut down for health and safety reasons, Pat McDonald, director of the Ohio Lottery said at a July meeting of the Ohio Lottery Commission.
But Hollywood Gaming posted its best month on record when it reopened last summer ($11.17 million net win in July), the commission said. Net revenues then topped that in October ($11.26 million).
Gross gaming revenues increased in the first three months of this year, peaking at $15.8 million in March.
Though revenues fell after that, April was still the racino’s second best month on record ($15.3 million net win); May was third ($14.2 million) and June was fourth ($12.7 million).
February ranked sixth ($11.3 million) and January, 11th ($10.7 million).
In the first half of this year, Hollywood Gaming has taken in $80.1 million in net revenue from its video terminals, which compares to about $92 million for all of 2020.
The racino’s net revenue is up nearly 40% from the same period in 2019.
What’s happened in Dayton has happened at gambling facilities all across the state.
Net revenues from video lottery terminals at all seven of Ohio’s racinos also hit record highs in March, and though since declining, they remain at elevated levels.
Gaming revenue in Ohio is up about 20% year to date, compared to 2019, which was a record year, said Casey Clark, senior vice president with the American Gaming Association.
Clark noted that casinos and betting locations across the country are seeing similar kinds of growth.
Twenty-two out of the 25 U.S. states with commercial gaming saw gaming revenues increase in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2019, the American Gaming Association said.
Part of what has been driving increased revenues is pent-up demand, Clark said.
But he also said casino and racino operators and the gaming industry are customer focused and constantly reimagine and reinvent their offerings to provide the entertainment and the kinds of settings people want.
Casinos and racinos have come roaring back to life after being decimated by the pandemic, while other forms of entertainment, like movie theaters, have struggled to more fully rebound.
“I think this fundamentally comes down to who we are as a business,” said Clark, who graduated from the University of Dayton. “We are really good entertainers.”
He continued, “Our members spend a lot of time and a lot of money reconfiguring gaming floors, putting safety protocols in place and ensuring that once they were allowed to welcome their employees and customers back, it was a safe and healthy environment that people can feel comfortable in.”
Ohioans looking for activities outside of the house may be turning to racinos and casinos because they feel more comfortable at those places than at a crowded bar or restaurant, said Derek Longmeier, executive director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio.
People may be avoiding movie theaters and live performances for safety reasons, he said, or because they have reduced capacity and limited availability.
Instead of taking vacations, some people may be opting for “staycations” and visiting the casino could be part of their entertainment plans, he said.
Longmeier also said increased spending on gambling earlier on might have been tied to stimulus payments.
But he said most people probably spent that money by now, and yet gambling revenues remain high.
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