Casino revenue in Missouri was down somewhat in May in monthly as well as year-over-year comparisons.
But with Missouri sportsbooks legislation shelved indefinitely, riverboat casinos are still the best gaming option in the Show-Me State. Here are three takeaways from May in Missouri.
Casino Revenues Exceed $163M For Month
May, with $163,539,011 in revenue from the state’s 13 riverboat casinos combined, marked the second consecutive month of decline. It was down 5.1% from April ($172.26 million) and that in turn was a 2.5% drop from March ($176.7 million).
That March figure had been the highest for Missouri casino revenue since at least 2017, which is when Missouri Gaming Commission website records begin.
The gaming proceeds to education for May came to $30.9 million, compared to $32.56 million in the previous month.
The figure was also a 5.6% drop compared to May 2021, when the revenue was $173.25 million.
Revenue Analysis for Missouri Casinos
As usual, the St. Louis market led the state for revenue in May. The four casinos there typically combine for about half of the state’s total and that was the case again last month, with $81.4 million in revenue.
St. Charles’ Ameristar Casino topped all Missouri casinos with $25.2 million for May’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR). Ameristar reported $20.4 million in revenue from slots and $4.55 million from table games, according to Missouri Gaming Commission figures.
River City Casino followed with $22.8 million for May, then Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis at $20.76 million and the newly rebranded Horseshoe St. Louis, which had been known as Lumiere Place, reporting $12.57 million.
Ameristar Kansas City topped that municipality’s market, reporting $16.8 million for the month’s revenue, followed by Argosy ($15.5 million), Harrah’s ($15 million) and Bally’s ($10.5 million).
The other five casinos in the Show-Me State are lumped under the “out state markets” category and they accounted for about $24 million in May, led by Isle Casino in Boonville at $7.2 million.
Stalled Sports Betting Efforts
As neighboring Kansas gets set to launch sports betting in the wake of Gov. Laura Kelly signing a bill into law last month, Missouri is stuck in neutral at least for the rest of 2022.
Missouri’s legislative session ended on May 13 – the same day that Kelly signed the Kansas bill into law – without passing a sports betting bill.
The Missouri House had passed HB 2502 but the legalization efforts stalled in the state Senate.
The bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 19 but got no further. So while Kansas prepares to launch a legal and regulated market for sports wagering, possibly in time to catch part of the football season this fall and winter, folks in Missouri can only look on.
Or Missourians can go next door to place sports bets, either on mobile devices or at retail sportsbooks, in Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee and Arkansas. And soon Kansas.
