Maine Casino Revenues Slump to $12.4 Million in December

The Maine Gambling Control Unit has released its casino figures for December 2024, revealing the state generated $12.4 million in revenues. That is a decline of 3.8% from November 2024 and 4.7% from December 2023. Two casinos declared revenues in December: Oxford Casino Hotel and Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway Bangor.

Table Games a Bright Spot in Bleak December

Both Maine casinos saw revenues slip year-on-year, although the drop at Hollywood Casino was barely over 1%. Additionally, the drop in state-wide revenues accounted for less than $50,000 of the decline. Of the total $4.8 million in revenues the casino generated in December 2024, $4 million came from slots, while over $765,000 was produced by table games.

Slot game revenues declined year over year, but Hollywood Casino's table game revenues increased year over year, jumping by 1.7%.

Oxford Casino is the state's most significant revenue generator, accounting for over 61% of overall revenues in December 2024. Therefore, most of the drop rested on this casino’s shoulders.

Most of this came from the difference in slot revenues year-on-year, with the December 2024 figure over $500,000 lower than December 2023. That’s despite Oxford Casino operating one fewer slot machine in December 2024 compared to December 2023.

Slots paid out 92.10% to players on average in December 2023 compared to 92.87% in December 2024. Players spent almost $67 million on slots in December 2023, while in December 2024, gamblers risked nearly $66 million to spin the reels. 

Maine Gaming Not Recovered Since No-Confidence Letter for Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director

Maine’s poor gaming revenues come as the state is still recovering from the no-confidence letter directed at the Maine Gambling Control Unit executive director.

Nine casino inspectors previously signed a letter of no confidence against executive director Milton Champion. The public safety inspectors believed Champion had created a "deeply dysfunctional and toxic workplace." Inspector Gayle Craig revealed that she and others filed a grievance over incorrect holiday pay and for undermining core responsibilities by cutting back hours. Before this, Champion was temporarily suspended in 2023 for inappropriate social media posts.

Month-on-Month Numbers Less Concerning Than Year-on-Year Drop

Table games also offered the smallest positive when comparing month-on-month figures. While Oxford Casino saw its slot revenues drop from $6.6 million in November to $6.4 million in December, its table game revenues climbed from $1 million to $1.1 million.

However, Hollywood Casino wasn’t as fortunate. Its slot revenues fell by over 4% from $4.2 million to $4 million. Meanwhile, table game revenue sharply dropped by 21.8% from over $979,000 to over $765,000. Hollywood Casino operated 13 tables in November 2024, with that number dropping to 12 in December 2024.