Ohio racinos, or racetrack casinos, surpassed the $1 billion mark in video lottery terminal (VTL) gaming revenue during the 2018-19 fiscal year which began July 1, 2018, and ended June 30.

According to a report posted by the Ohio Lottery Commission, Ohio racinos recorded $1,058,638,754 in VLT revenue over the last 12-month reporting period, which was the first time Ohio racino VLT gaming revenue exceeded $1 billion.

That’s an important milestone for the state’s seven racetrack casinos, which first opened in 2012, as well as the state of Ohio, which collected $354,643,983 in tax revenue from racino VLT sales.

Ohio Racinos Help Fund Education

Statewide racino revenue has grown steadily in Ohio since the first racino launched almost seven years ago. Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling in 2009, but the first casinos did not open until 2012.

Since then, the growth of lottery-regulated video slot machines, at various casinos around the state, has been a big boost to the Ohio Lottery’s ability to robustly fund educational programs across the state.

According to Cleveland.com, Ohio’s seven racinos combined to generate over $300 million for the state’s general education fund over the last fiscal year. That means almost a third of what the Ohio Lottery collected for education over the last 12 months has come directly from VLT revenues.

Overall, the Ohio Lottery has collected over $1.15 billion for education over the last fiscal year, a huge number that has grown steadily since its inception in 1974. In total, the Ohio Lottery has netted $25.6 billion in 45 years of service.

Ohio VLT Revenue Up 6.9% From 2017-18

Last year’s net win for Ohio VLTs was $987,297,088, meaning that the fiscal year’s growth over last year was a whopping 6.9%.

“It’s the first time we’ve exceeded $1 billion in net win,” Ohio Lottery Commission spokesperson Danielle Frizz-Babb said. “We’re proud that our VLT facilities continue to perform well.”

Net win is considered the net VLT gaming revenue that remains after prize payouts and promotional credits. According to the full report, which is available on the Ohio Lottery’s website, the total take for VLTs across Ohio’s racinos was $11,587,956,217 billion.

Winners in The Buckeye State pocketed $10,339,891,764, and there were $189,425,699 million in promotion credits used.

In addition to what the Ohio Lottery collected from racino VLT revenue toward Ohio’s general education fund, the lottery also collected $3,519,973 million over the last fiscal year for problem gambling resources. That means that even as racino revenues go up, the number of resources available for problem gamblers across the state also increases.