Amid an astonishing comeback, Mississippi’s casinos earned $209.6 million in the month of May, the second-best earning of the year. This comes after profits declined in April and failed to reach the anticipated $200 million. The reported figures for May are indeed encouraging and may signify a good summer period for casinos in the state.
Thus, while online casinos are not yet legal in Mississippi, its land-based casinos saw a substantial boost in revenues, amounting to nearly $210m last month. This trend has been persistent, as revenues have demonstrated an incline in three of the previous four months. However, there is the fear that this growth may not persist through June and may even decline below $200 million.
Even as the debates continue, there have yet to be any definite steps taken toward the legalization of online casino betting in Mississippi. The attitude towards online gambling in the state is generally conservative, as it is common with Southern states where no state has endorsed the legalization of iGaming so far. This hesitance persists even though there have been earlier attempts to bring in online sports betting, which failed earlier this year.
As mentioned by Matthew Kredell, a Legal Analyst at PlayUSA, there is some hope for Mississippi’s future. Based on this projection, it is expected that the revenues generated from sports betting will continue to grow with at least a 10% yearly increment through the physical sportsbooks over the past couple of years. Kredell estimates that if iGaming were legalized in Mississippi, it would generate more than $50 million. This is based on the results and revenues observed in other states with regulated online casinos. This potential is highlighted by the success of best online casino USA sites, which have shown substantial revenue growth in states where online gambling is legalized.
Still, the state’s casinos have positive prospects, with May’s revenue above $17 million more than the revenue noted in April. While this may not completely offset the $40 million drop from March to April, it does present potential for future recovery. May’s revenues reached $209.6 million, showing a 9.2% increase over April, but it is slightly below last year’s May by 0.29%.
From the most current records from the Mississippi Gaming Commission, there is a noticeable fluctuation in casino revenues. This trend is likely to continue in the future. This is evident from the numbers generated in the previous year, where there were repeated fluctuations in monthly revenue from June, hitting the maximum high in November and then dropping in the following month. From this observation, it is predicted that in June 2024, there may be a decline in revenues, and this may be estimated at $197.7 million. At the same time, the revenue is also expected to come back strongly in July, with the potential of being $20 million higher than the previous levels.
The volatility of Mississippi’s casinos’ financial outcomes shows that the industry is capable of surviving and even thriving in the dynamically changing economic environment in 2024. But even internal factors like competition between casinos exist, let alone possible changes in gambling legislation, with which they must cope.