Maryland Lottery Revenue Falls As Casinos Gambling Rises

As casino gambling become more popular in the state of Maryland, one of the businesses suffering from the fallout would seem to be The Maryland Lottery.
According to a recent report, as of April 14th total sales are down to $1.38 billion this year from the $1.41 billion taken in the last fiscal year. In addition, in fiscal 2013 lottery revenue is currently at $435 million, compared to the $442 million at the same point last year.
Meanwhile, as the lottery heads towards a lower revenue figure than last year’s $556 million, casino revenues in Maryland have continued to skyrocket and generated $58 million in March, an improvement on the $16.3 million taken in March, last year.
Commenting on the latest figures, lottery Director Stephen Martino, said: “We’re starting to see some erosion on some of our games, particularly Keno. I don’t think there’s any doubt that there is some crossover.”
Key to Maryland’s escalating casino figures is the Maryland Live! in Anne Arundel County, which opened in June, 2012, and last month accounted for 77% of last month’s casino revenues. However, it is not just the Maryland Lottery suffering as a result, and according to a Gaming Report by Fantini Research, nearby state’s such as Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, too, have seen their revenue eaten into by
Maryland’s casinos.
As for the Maryland Lottery, however, analyst James Karmel has taken a more optimistic approach to the recent decline and said he believes that the number of state casino gamblers will ultimately hit a ceiling. As Karmel explains: “There’s only so much business within the region. A lot of lottery players are not the same as casino players.”