June: Missouri casino revenue remains stable compared to last year

Business wasn’t exactly booming in the Missouri casino market this past month, but it held steady year on year in a month when states across the country saw yearly and monthly casino revenue declines.

Missouri casinos generated $154.7 million in June, virtually matching revenue from June 2023. Monthly revenue dipped 5% as casinos struggled to keep pace with May numbers, according to the latest data from the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Key takeaways

• Legalizing Missouri online casinos could generate more than $70 million in monthly revenue.
• Casino revenue held steady year on year but fell 5.1% compared to May.
• One casino, St. Joseph Frontier Casino, saw monthly revenue increase in June.
• Four casinos have better revenue numbers this fiscal year than they did at the same point in FY2023.

Update on Missouri online casinos

No discussion of land-based casinos is complete without talking about online casinos. Ideally, states would allow both, a move that generated significant tax revenue and boost casinos’ income. However, states have been slow to adopt iGaming amid fears it will cut into land-based casino revenue and increase problem gambling rates.

To date, only seven states have active online casino markets, led by Pennysivania, Michigan and New Jersey Those three states consistently combined for more than $500 million in monthly revenue.

Will Missouri be the eighth state to welcome online casinos? Probably not. States in the post-2018 gaming environment typically legalize online sports betting first, then push for online casinos. While that process hasn’t been an issue in some states, it’s been a huge hurdle in Missouri as lawmakers consistently botch attemps to legalize online sports betting.

As such, we’re likely two or three years away from seeing Missouri online casinos, which is a shame considering the revenue potential iGaming could bring to the Show Me State. Based on averages from the seven states with online casinos, PlayUSA projects that Missouri could generate as much as $75 million in monthly iGaming revenue.