New York casinos are raking in more gambling revenue this year than they did during the first half of 2022, according to state regulators.
The state’s 14 commercial NY casinos are 7% ahead of last year’s record-setting pace through June, based on data from the New York State Gaming Commission. According to the commission, the nontribal gambling facilities combined for $882.4 million this year versus $820.7 million through the same period last year.
The Empire State gambling industry has been gaining more and more attention since legal online sports betting catapulted NY into the largest market in the country. With three downstate NY casinos on the horizon and online gambling expansion becoming a possibility in the next couple of years, the state is positioning itself to be a major player.
NY casinos outperforming some of Atlantic City market
The state’s class III commercial casinos reported $338.7 million in pre-tax revenue so far in 2023, up 2.73% compared to the first six months of 2022. Those figures include revenue from table games, slots, electronic table games (ETG), poker and retail sports betting.
The 10 class II commercial gaming facilities combined to generate more than $543.7 million in post-tax revenue, according to the NYSGC data. In the first half of 2022, the class II group reported $491 million.
The four commercial casinos in NY — Tioga Downs Casino, Del Lago Resort and Casino, Rivers Casino & Resort, and Resorts World Catskills — are on par with other regional operators in Atlantic City, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Rivers, Resorts World and Del Lago are generating more in-person gambling revenue in 2023 than one-third of the Atlantic City market.
How individual NY casinos fare in 2023
Rivers in Schenectady leads the way among the four NY casinos with $104.1 million in pre-tax revenue this year, an 8.6% Y-o-Y increase. Resorts World Catskills’ revenue declined a bit from last year, dropping from $107.6 million to $102.6 million. Tioga Downs jumped from $50.1 million to $54 million, while Del Lago increased revenue from $76.2 million to $78 million.
Class II casinos in NY offer video gaming machines (VGMs) that operate differently than traditional slot machines, but generally look and feel the same to players. Rather than using a random number generator, or RNG, such as slots found in AC or Las Vegas, VGMs use a systemwide lottery to award winnings.
Two of the VGM facilities — Resorts World New York City and Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway — are performing better than two-thirds of the Atlantic City market in 2023.
Resorts World, a racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, has netted $169.8 million through the first six months of this year, which is $15.3 million more than last year. Nassau OTB at Resorts World reports revenue separately from the main racino despite being in the same physical location. Nassau OTB’s first-half revenue was $61.3 million, up from $59 million in ‘22.
Empire City, an MGM Resorts property, is up to $122.4 million in post-tax revenue this year.
Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino on Long Island — which expects to undergo expansion in the near future — is the only other gambling facility in NY with revenues over $60 million so far in 2023. The Islandia casino reported $61.7 million in post-tax earnings, an increase from last year’s mark of $56.3 million.
As for the rest of the NY casino landscape
Here’s how the other operators stand through the first six months of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022:
- Saratoga Casino – Hotel: $30.8 million (2023) / $29.2 million (2022)
- Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack: $27M / $24.7M
- Hamburg Gaming at Buffalo Raceway: $22.2M / $20M
- Batavia Downs Gaming: $21.5M / $19.4M
- Resorts World Hudson Valley: $18M / NA
- Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel: $9M / $7.5M
