Maine is home to just two licensed casinos, Hollywood Casino Bangor and Oxford Casino. Every month, the Gambling Control Board releases revenue reports detailing the financial status and tax contributions from each casino’s range of gambling amusements. In the board’s annual report for the year ending 2014, it was revealed that slot machine wagers have declined $25 million year over year.
Slot Machine Wagers down $10 Million at Hollywood Casino Bangor
Hollywood Casino Bangor has a vast gaming floor that presents 900 slots and 16 table games. While the latter saw in increase of 8% in casino win, up from $7.39 million in 2013 to $8.03 million in 2014, slot machine wagers have clearly fallen short of their previous popularity. Players spent nearly $10 million less on the slots last year than they did in 2013.
Past revenue reports indicate that slot machine players at Hollywood Casino in Bangor inserted a total of $468.98 million in 2013. That figure dropped to $459.62 million in 2014, resulting in a decline of 2%. And while 2% may not seem like much, it amounts to a genuine total of $9,354,344.66; or nearly $10 million in slot machine wagers.
The state is privy to 1% of Hollywood Casino’s annual gross revenue ($4.6 million) and an additional 39% of the casino’s net revenue ($16.3 million). Combined the facilities slot machine revenue contributed $20.9 million to the state’s tax coffers in 2014, down from $21.3 million in the previous year, which reflects a similar 2% decrease.
Slot Machine Wagers down $15 Million at Oxford Casino
The drop in slot machine spend at Oxford Casino was a bit more extreme than its sole rival in Maine. With 858 slots and 26 table games, the 2014 slot machine revenue report indicated the Oxford gambling establishment came up nearly $15 million short in slot machine wagers compared to the previous annual report.
Bettors at the casino spent $662.9 million on slot machine wagers in 2014, down almost $15 million from $677.7 million in 2013. That represents a 2.2% decrease in slots activity at Oxford Casino. But once again, the report denoted an increase in table game activity with a total casino win of $14.46 million in 2014, up from $13.26 million in 2013, mirroring the 8% increase at Hollywood Casino.
Regulators say they’re Not Concerned
Patrick Fleming is the Executive Director of the Gambling Control Board in Maine, and he told the Sun Journal that he isn’t too concerned about the drop in slot machine spend at the state’s two casinos. “I think the novelty is kind of wearing off, said Fleming.
“The first year or so [Oxford Casino] was open, they had a pretty significant impact on Bangor,” Fleming explained. “…Bangor has kind of leveled out, and I think we’re just establishing where we’re going to be going forward.”
As the annual reports indicated, Fleming said he believes it’s the type of players visiting the casinos that have changed. Fewer patrons are seating themselves at a slot machine these days, while more players are interested in the table games that first appeared in Maine casinos in 2012.
Fleming also commented on the expansion of gambling already in the works in Massachusetts, and a new casino proposal on the table in New Hampshire. While the regulator is not anticipating any declines in Maine’s gambling revenue this year due to competition, he did say “I think that’s certainly something that’s we’ll be looking at,” in the future.