Virginia Casino Revenue, Taxes Down in September

Virginia Casino Revenue, Taxes Down in September
Fact Checked by Michael Peters

Virginia’s three casinos reported a combined adjusted gross revenue for September of just over $51.9 million, a drop of 5.7% from August (about $55.06 million). September was the second straight month of a drop in casino adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in the commonwealth. To date, July stands as the casino high water mark for AGR — about $57.3 million.

The decrease in September from the previous month was due mainly to lower table games revenue. In September, table games generated about $12.9 million, which was a drop of 14.3% from August ($15.07 million). Slots revenue had a smaller dip. In September, the slots revenue was $38.99 million, down 2.5% from August ($39.98 million).

September taxes from the casinos were $9,344,186, down 5.7% from August ($9,910,449). There are no Virginia online casinos.

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Casino Industry Still in Early Stages

So far, the commonwealth has three casinos — Hard Rock Bristol (opened July 8, 2022); Rivers Casino Portsmouth (opened Jan. 23, 2023), and Caesars Virginia in Danville (opened May 15, 2023). The Danville casino features a Caesars Sportsbook Virginia retail location. The bricks-and-mortar casino industry is still in its early stages in Virginia.

Of the three current casinos, Rivers Casino Portsmouth is a permanent facility with an array of restaurants, and a hotel is planned. The other two casinos are temporary facilities that will eventually be replaced by grander and larger permanent casino-hotels.

The September casino-by-casino breakdown was (by AGR): Rivers Casino Portsmouth, $20.05 million; Caesars Virginia, $19.14 million, and Hard Rock Bristol, $12.72 million. Each casino’s tax contribution was: Rivers Casino Portsmouth $3,609,880, Caesars Virginia $3,445,452, Hard Rock Bristol $2,288,854. Tax proceeds are distributed to the host cities (6%); to the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund (0.8%), and to a Family and Children’s Trust Fund (0.2%). The remaining money is available in the Gaming Proceeds Fund.

Virginia sports betting reported $319 million in handle in August and $27.9 million in revenue. September numbers will be reported later this month.

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Author

Bill Ordine

Bill Ordine was a reporter and editor in news and sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Baltimore Sun for 25 years, and was a lead reporter on a team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News. Bill started reporting on casinos and gaming shortly after Atlantic City’s first gambling halls opened and wrote a syndicated column on travel to casino destinations for 10 years. He covered the World Series of Poker for a decade and his articles on gaming have appeared in many major U.S. newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald and others

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