Mississippi Casino Revenue Down 25% From 2007 Peak

Mississippi’s gambling industry is facing challenging times as each month the state’s 12 coastal casinos and 18 riverboat casinos continue to report declines in revenue. Back in 2007, Mississippi casinos hit an impressive $2.9 billion in revenue before last year declining 22% from their peak to $2.25 billion. This year, the state’s casinos are on track to shed a further $100 million in revenue as fewer people visit its gambling venues.
All this is happening at a time when gambling revenues across the USA have rebounded to almost their pre-recession highs, although it must also be remembered that those revenue totals are now spread over a lot more casinos as numerous additional states opened up to gaming.
Consequently, helping to explain the drastic situation facing Mississippi’s casino market is increased competition from other states such as Louisiana, with its newest threat coming from Arkansas, which legalized electronic “games of skill” in 2006. Last year, Southland Greyhound Park and Oaklawn Park in Arkansas then won $181 million from gamblers, with that figure expected to grow by 20% this year.
Amongst those casino being hit the hardest in Mississippi are those located along the Mississippi River in Tunica, Greenville and Lula, where the Isle of Capri casino has seen its revenue fall from $75 million in its fiscal year 2007-08 to just $55 million in 2012-13.
As a result, Mississippi casinos have been forced to cut costs in order to maintain profitability, leaving less funds available to invest in renovations or spend on marketing promotions.
Finally, the casinos’ traditional customers have had to reign back their leisure spending due to the difficult economic climate, and as Penn National Gaming Inc. CEO Tim Wilmott, explained recently:
“It’s not that they’re going to the competition, it’s that the consumer is just being more conservative with their discretionary entertainment dollar.”