The 13 commercial casinos in Missouri fell off slightly in April after setting a high standard in March.
Spring tends to be a strong time for casino revenue in the Show-Me State and April was no exception, with a combined $172,259,133 for the month. That was down 2.5% from the $176,744,848 reported in March.
That March figure was the highest since at least 2017, which is as far back as the records go at the Missouri Gaming Commission website.
But last month’s figure was a slight improvement on a year-over-year comparison basis. In April 2021 the state recorded $171.57 million in casino revenue so the April 2022 number was a 0.4% increase.
Missouri Casino Revenue Breakdown
The Ameristar Casino in St. Charles once again led the St. Louis market and the state in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for April at $26.385 million. That included $20.7 million from slot machines and $5.5 million from table games.
River City Casino was second in the market and in the state at $23.36 million and Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis followed closely behind at $22.2 million, according to figures posted by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
The four casinos in the St. Louis market (also including Lumiere Place at $12.7 million) accounted for $84.67 million for the month, nearly half of the state total.
In the Kansas City market, Ameristar KC reported $17.78 million, followed by two casinos in nearly a dead heat, Argosy ($15.76 million) and Harrah’s ($15.73 million). Bally’s Kansas City accounted for $11.15 million.
Of the five facilities outside of the major cities, Isle Casino in Boonville was tops at $8.33 million for the month.
The total amount earmarked for education in April was $32.557 million, and local governments got a $3.62 million windfall.
The total AGR for this fiscal year, which began in July 2021, is $1.589 billion, 13.8% of the pace from the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Missouri Sports Betting Update
The effort to get a legal and regulated Missouri sports betting market launched has hit a snag.
And the implications could well be felt outside of the state’s borders.
As neighbor and eternal rival Kansas inches closer to getting sports betting legalized, Missouri saw its effort delayed in late April when a state Senate filibuster derailed a proposal over the issue of video lottery terminals.
The House approved HB 2502 115-33 on March 24, then the bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee 8-1 on April 19. But the debate over VLTs has prevented the proposal from advancing any further to this point.
A deal is still possible to get Missouri sports betting passed, with State Sen. Denny Hoskins, who filibustered to try to get VLTs included in the bill in the first place, tweeting in early May that he tried to get a standalone sportsbook bill passed to no avail.
The longer Missouri waits, the stronger the likelihood will grow that Kansas will have sports wagering well before its neighbor — the bill only awaits Gov. Laura Kelly’s signature.
And in Kansas, 80% of the revenue would be devoted to a fund trying to lure the Kansas City Chiefs to Kansas. The Chiefs have played in Missouri for more than half a century.
