Data from the Ohio Lottery and Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has revealed that combined, the state’s four casinos and seven racinos collected $204.1 million in revenue in August 2024. Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) at the state’s racinos combined for $118.4 million of this total, while the remaining $85.7 million came from OCCC-licensed casino venues.

This strong month follows on from a slightly less positive July, when the state’s casinos and racinos collected 3.0% less year-over-year.

Solid month for casinos

The four land-based casinos in Ohio include Hollywood Columbus, Jack Cleveland, Hard Rock Cincinnati, and Hollywood Toledo. In August, the four operators combined to generate almost $85.7 million in revenue. The total marks the second-highest result for the 2024 calendar year, behind the $94.7 million collected in March.

Revenue from slot games accounted for around 73.8% or $63.2 million of August’s total. Meanwhile, table games collected the remaining $22.5 million. It was the third-best month of the year for tables, behind March and February. Meanwhile, slots saw their second-highest result of 2024, behind the $69.0 million total in March.

Nearly all racinos report revenue increases

Ohioans can access VLTs at seven racinos across the state, including Belterra Park Cincinnati, Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, JACK Thistledown Racino, MGM Northfield Park, and Miami Valley Gaming.

Of these seven venues, six reported higher revenue in August when compared both year-on-year and month-on-month. Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway was the only racino to experience a decline in revenue during the month, down 2.8% year-on-year and 2.7% from July. Overall racino revenue was up 2.6% compared to July and 5.3% against the same month last year.

MGM Northfield Park generated the highest revenue of nearly $27.4 million, followed by Miami Valley Gaming, collecting $20.7 million, and Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs taking third place, with $19.4 million in revenue for August. But it was Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course that saw the largest year-on-year increase of 11.2% or almost $1.5 million.

JACK Thistledown Racino saw the largest increase of 9.1% compared to July, while all other casinos reported smaller differences of below 5%.

Slower month for sports

The Buckeye State has also been home to sports betting since January 2023. Sports betting also saw growth in August, with revenues of $48.6 million, marking a 19.4% increase compared with August last year. Still, August saw the lowest sports betting revenue of the 2024 calendar year so far.

However, with the 2024-25 NFL season kicking off in September, next month’s results could make up for this slightly slower month. For instance, the state collected $40.7 million in revenue last August, which then doubled in September 2023, reaching $81.5 million.