October was a very profitable month for Missouri casinos. Combined, the 13 establishments generated over $162 million in revenue last month. The earnings were a great showing and a sizable increase in wagers compared to the months prior.
October’s production was about $10 million more than in both August and September. Revenue rose around 6.5% compared to recent months.
Casinos in Missouri are earning much more than a year ago, as well. When looking at the figures from last year, revenue jumped up about $28 million, or 21%.
Therefore great news for the Show-Me State as it doesn’t have any additional sources of legal betting revenue. There are bills in the state’s legislature regarding sports betting and online casinos, but both don’t appear to be making significant progress at this time.
Missouri casinos revenue soars
With only commercial casinos within Missouri right now, the state relies on them to create extra funding. The revenue from last month alone provided more than $30 million for education programs. This total reached around $120 million in just this fiscal year that started in July.
The Missouri Gaming Commission gives nearly 19% of all gaming earnings to education.
Other initiatives include funding for local governments. October casino betting gave about $3.2 million to these municipalities.
As far as individual casinos, the Ameristar St. Charles, located just outside St. Louis, led all others in revenue for the month. It brought in more than $26 million in October. However, it was over $5 million more than any other casino location in the state.
Ameristar received about $21 million of the profits from slots, while table games were at $5.5 million.
River City finished second during the month, with Hollywood Casino right behind in third. Both locations are also in the St. Louis region. River City hit $21 million in gambling revenue for the month, whereas Hollywood was closer to $19 million.
Ameristar in Kansas City took the top spot for that area. It exceeded $16 million for the month, while Argosy saw just over $15 million.
Slots produced the most money by far when looking at the breakdown by casino game. They almost eclipsed $140 million in October, with table games at about $22 million. In addition, Ameristar St. Charles was responsible for $180,000 in hybrid games, too.
For table games, the hold percentage sat at slightly over 21%. Slots were close to 10%.
Missouri sports betting movement
Although sports betting bills in Missouri haven’t made it very far, several professional sports teams are looking to help.
Franchises like the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and St. Louis Blues began several proposals to put legal sports betting on voting. The teams are trying to get as many signatures as possible to progress things.
There are nine initiatives overall, and they were only at the public comment period at the beginning of November. Perhaps this will be the push that finally brings legal sportsbooks to the state.
