February Mass Casino Revenue Shows Positive Effect Of Sportsbooks

Written By Matthew Bain on March 15, 2023Last Updated on April 4, 2023
Massachusetts casinos February revenue report, from play-ma.com

Massachusetts casinos combined to make over $98 million in February revenue, according to a report released Wednesday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The exact February 2023 gross gaming revenue (GGR) total — $98,003,399.66 — is a 1.1% increase from the January total of $96.9 million. The overall handle was a 2.5% decrease from January — not shocking, as there were three fewer days in February (28) than in January (31).

The slight increase in revenue despite having three fewer days coincides with the first full month with legal retail sportsbooks at Massachusetts casinos. There was hope that sports betting would bring a new segment of the population to the casinos, where they would gamble on slots and table games in addition to sports bets.

MA casinos paid Massachusetts $27,390,625.11 in February taxes.

Breaking down February casino revenue

Encore Boston Harbor led Massachusetts casinos with $62,705,178.76 in February revenue. MGM Springfield was second at $23,257,490.95 and Plainridge Park Casino rounded out the group at $12,040,729.95.

Encore Boston Harbor

Encore Boston Harbor’s February revenue of $62,705,178.76 marked a 1.4% increase from the $61,856,924.44 it made in January. EBH’s revenue hold of 8.25% was its second-highest since last September.

Massachusetts received $15,676,294.69 in February taxes from Encore Boston Harbor.

RELATED: $25.7 Million Bet At MA Casino Sportsbooks In First Full Month Of Operation

Encore Boston Harbor revenue by month

Month Slot GGR Table GGR Total
Slot and Table GGR
Total (25%) in collected state taxes
February 2022 $31,054,019.69 $23,688,641.56 $54,742,661.25 $13,685,665.31
March 2022 $35,181,572.90 $29,685,959.75 $64,867,532.65 $16,216,883.16
April 2022 $34,118,122.32 $29,620,598.98 $63,738,721.30 $15,934,680.33
May 2022 $32,624,183.92 $25,408,848.58 $58,033,032.50 $14,508,258.13
June 2022 $31,468,282.71 $28,589,032.87 $60,057,315.58 $15,014,328.90
July 2022 $35,051,906.67 $29,672,721.61 $64,724,628.28 $16,181,157.07
August 2022 $35,372,908.84 $22,711,324.56 $58,084,233.40 $14,521,058.35
September 2022 $32,941,867.36 $28,642,137.95 $61,584,005.31 $15,396,001.33
October 2022 $33,677,401.58 $28,365,680.78 $62,043,082.36 $15,510,770.59
November 2022 $32,841,989.82 $26,588,480.33 $59,430,470.15 $14,857,617.54
December 2022 $34,984,642.31 $33,475,100.78 $68,459,743.09 $17,114,935.77
January 2023 $34,197,723.87 $27,659,200.57 $61,856,924.44 $15,464,231.11
February 2023 $32,797,874.02 $29,907,304.74 $62,705,178.76 $15,676,294.69
March 2023 $36,230,027.77 $29,248,142.34 $66,178,170.11 $16,554,542.53

Encore Boston Harbor revenue by year

  Total GGR Total in collected state taxes
2019 $313,943,179.12 $78,485,794.80
2020 $331,716,869.90 $82,929,217.48
2021 $634,395,489.92 $158,598,872.48
2022 $729,724,772.54 $182,431,193.15
2023 $124,562,103.20 $31,140,525.80
Total $2,134,342,414.68 $533,585,603.67

MGM Springfield

MGM Springfield made $23,257,490.95 in February revenue. That’s a 1.8% increase from the $22,853,749.75 it made in January. It reported an 8.82% revenue hold, the highest of all Massachusetts casinos in February.

For February, MGM Springfield paid Massachusetts $5,814,372.74 in taxes.

MGM Springfield revenue by month

Month Slot GGR Table GGR Total
Slot and Table GGR
Total (25%) in collected state taxes
February 2022 $15,711,906.08 $4,220,007.75 $19,931,913.83 $4,982,978.46
March 2022 $18,837,606.75 $5,442,915.75 $24,280,522.50 $6,070,130.63
April 2022 $18,404,598.73 $4,135,430.05 $22,540,028.78 $5,635,007.20
May 2022 $17,113,181.60 $4,039,067.85 $21,152,249.45 $5,288,062.36
June 2022 $16,936,388.21 $4,209,619.31 $21,146,007.52 $5,286,501.88
July 2022 $17,275,318.86 $4,242,403.60 $21,517,722.46 $5,379,430.62
August 2022 $17,518,085.09 $4,474,746.40 $21,992,831.49 $5,498,207.87
September 2022 $16,358,042.03 $4,213,605.83 $20,571,647.86 $5,142,911.97
October 2022 $17,980,905.48 $4,917,880.59 $22,898,786.07 $5,724,696.52
November 2022 $17,327,291.21 $4,706,483.14 $22,033,774.35 $5,508,443.59
December 2022 $17,640,504.18 $4,829,782.52 $22,470,286.70 $5,617,571.68
January 2023 $18,452,254.93 $4,401,494.82 $22,853,749.75 $5,713,437.44
February 2023 $17,858,976.07 $5,398,514.88 $23,257,490.95 $5,814,372.74
March 2023 $19,792,210.64 $4,287,427.13 $24,079,637.77 $6,019,909.44

MGM Springfield revenue by year

  Total GGR Total in collected state taxes
2018 $101,482,954.83 $25,370,738.71
2019 $252,642,750.41 $63,160,687.62
2020 $137,964,730.81 $34,491,182.72
2021 $247,034,037.74 $61,758,509.44
2022 $259,137,459.23 $64,784,364.84
2023 $46,111,240.70 $11,527,810.18
Total $1,044,373,173.72 $261,093,293.43

Plainridge Park Casino

Plainridge Park Casino was the only Massachusetts casino to report a lower revenue in February compared to January. Its $12,040,729.95 of February revenue was a 1% decrease from its January revenue.

PPC paid Massachusetts $5,899,957.68 in February taxes and race horse development funds (rhdf).

Plainridge Park Casino revenue by month

Month Slot GGR Total in collected state taxes and rhdf
(49%)
February 2022 $10,950,511.23 $5,365,750.50
March 2022 $12,937,163.66 $6,339,210.19
April 2022 $12,908,918.51 $6,325,370.07
May 2022 $11,731,163.49 $5,748,270.11
June 2022 $11,967,439.63 $5,864,045.42
July 2022 $12,498,196.15 $6,124,116.11
August 2022 $11,961,566.29 $5,861,167.48
September 2022 $12,199,572.68 $5,977,790.61
October 2022 $12,363,500.65 $6,058,115.32
November 2022 $11,392,148.60 $5,582,152.81
December 2022 $12,310,688.75 $6,032,237.49
January 2023 $12,166,668.78 $5,961,667.70
February 2023 $12,040,729.95 $5,899,957.68
March 2023 $14,256,239.09 $6,985,557.15

Plainridge Park Casino revenue by year

  Total Slot GGR Total collected state taxes
2015 $88,230,548.03 $43,232,968.52
2016 $155,041,917.60 $75,970,554.32
2017 $164,786,229.97 $80,745,252.68
2018 $171,589,629.33 $84,078,918.38
2019 $151,948,969.73 $74,454,990.79
2020 $82,254,142.69 $40,304,529.91
2021 $139,347,781.80 $68,280,413.08
2022 $143,063,200.71 $70,100,968.33
2023 $24,207,398.73 $11,861,625.38
Total $1,120,469,818.59 $549,030,221.42

Tax revenue trends

It’s worth noting again that, in the first month with retail sportsbooks, the casinos reported a higher revenue than January despite February having three fewer days this year.

Obviously, this may or may not have something to do with sports betting foot traffic. We’ll need more months of data to analyze any real trends in that regard. Perhaps casino gamblers were just more unlucky in February.

However, if we take the average daily revenue ($3.5 million) and multiply it by 31 days instead of 28, that’s $108.5 million in revenue, which would be an 8.6% increase from January. That’s imperfect math, but it’s interesting to analyze.

Photo by Associated Press
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Matthew Bain

Matthew Bain started as Content Manager at Play MA in 2022. Before that, he spent six years as a sports reporter and then deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register, during which time he won nine statewide journalism awards, including the Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award. As deputy sports editor, Matthew oversaw the Register’s recruiting coverage while also innovating the outlet’s high school sports coverage. Matthew graduated from San Diego State and grew up in California, but he’s somehow a Boston Celtics fan. Long story. Matthew also led coverage of Prop 26 vs. Prop 27 in the California sports betting election battle for Catena Media.

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