Mississippi Casinos Feeling Pinch Of Increased CompetitionState Casinos Report Second-Straight Year Of Revenue Declines |
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As more states add casino gaming and sports betting, some of the more-established markets are feeling the pinch, including the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Despite the American Gaming Association (AGA) recently reporting the commercial gaming industry growing 10% to record revenue of $66.5 million in 2023, Mississippi went the other way, experiencing a drop of 3%.
This marked the second-straight year of falling revenue for the state’s Gulf Coast casinos as well as casinos across the state, according to the AGA.
Increased competition in the northeast has also led to a similar economic impact in New Jersey.
Mississippi Numbers Falling
The Mississippi Gulf Coast has long been a popular spot for gamblers in the south, treating guests to an beach vacation and plenty of casino gambling. There are about a dozen casinos located in Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis.
The region even featured a nice poker scene with early World Poker Tour events held in Mississippi and the WSOP Circuit still regularly heading to the state.
As more states like Arkansas have launched casino gambling and sports betting, Gulf Coast casinos are now facing increased competition. That trend continued in January, with coastal casinos seeing a drop of $8.5 million compared to the same month in 2023. That carried over statewide with a decline of $21.7 million.
Casino operators have noticed the loss in business, the Clarion Ledger newspaper reports, especially to casinos in Louisiana after that state launched live and online sports betting in January 2022.
Mississippi legislators are now considering legal online betting. However, more competition looms as Alabama is also now considering casino gaming expansion and legalized sports betting.
Atlantic City Also Experiencing Increased Competition
New Jersey’s nine casinos in Atlantic City are also feeling the pressure from nearby competition. Gamblers can now take their pick of casinos located across the region including Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and more.
“I think Atlantic City is similar to a lot of other markets across the country that are being impacted by cross border and regional competition,” AGA Vice President of Research David Forman said. “New Jersey is now entirely surrounded by states with a fair amount of gambling and a fair amount of gambling options that have expanded over the past few years.”
The Garden State has also offered online gaming for over a decade, but now Maryland and New York are also considering legalization.
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