Mississippi Casino Revenues Rise 8.1% To $177.1m In April

The Mississippi Department of Revenue has released its casino results for April, revealing an 8.1% in revenues to $177.1 million compared to the $163.8 million generated in the same month last year. From that tally, the state’s 17 river casinos saw their business increase by 4.4% to $82.8 million, while revenues at Mississippi’s 11 coastal casinos soared by an impressive 11.5% to $94.3 million, representing 9 positive months out of 11 along the coast. For the first 4 months of 2015, the Magnolia State’s casino revenue are currently higher by 1% compared to the same period of time in 2014.
Looking ahead, concerns exist that the Mississippi gambling market could eventually come under pressure from neighbouring Alabama if the decision is made to permit its four dog tracks to open up casinos, with analysts predicting a loss of up to four million casino customers per year. Nevertheless, Boyd Gaming President Keith Smith has said that “competition will continue to increase, whatever its source”, and warned that Mississippi will also face internal competitive pressure from a 12th state casino
currently under construction along the coast in D’Iberville, as well as a possible expansion of the Wind Creek Casino’s operation in Atmore.
In the meanwhile, Mississippi is currently reviewing a number of ways in which to increase state gambling revenues, including legalizing lottery games, and even sports betting depending on the outcome of a high profile regulated sports betting case involving New Jersey. Online poker, on the other hand, doesn’t look like being on the cards anytime soon as more than 50% of Mississippi’s 3 million residents neither possess a computer or have access to an Internet connection. As House Gaming Committee chairman Richard Bennett explains:
“We’re a state that’s going to stay back and watch.”