Virginia Casino Revenues Increased by 14.5% year-on-year in August

The Virginia Lottery has released its land-based casinos figures for August 2024, showing the state’s three casinos collected more than $63 million in Adjusted Gaming Revenue (AGR). These numbers marked a 14.5% increase in total casino AGR from August 2023.

Among Virginia casinos’ growth segnemts, Hard Rock Bristol’s AGR for slot machines reached its highest total, just under $13.3 million, beating out the just over $13 million posted in March 2024. This has helped the casino put behind the troubles it faced in July, being fined by the Virginia Lottery for multiple violations.

All VA Casinos Post Year-on-Year Growth

The second-highest AGR month in Virginia history (trailing March 2024) was possible thanks to growth from all three casinos in the state. The more than $63 million in AGR in August 2024 also marked growth of 6.3% month-on-month from July 2024. 

Rivers Casino Portsmouth brought in the highest AGR in August 2023 and August 2024 and also posted the highest growth rate year-on-year of more than 23%.

Both other casinos in VA also saw AGR grow year-on-year, with Caesars Virginia’s haul increasing from over$19.6 million to just under $20.5 million. Meanwhile, Hard Rock Bristol collected 14.8% more in August 2024 than in August 2023. 

Massive Increase in Slot AGR Powers Growth Despite Table Game Fall

While AGR grew overall across the state, table game AGR decreased slightly year-on-year by less than 1%. In August 2023, casinos collected just over $15 million, whereas in August 2024, casinos brought in over $14.9 million. The most significant contributor to this drop was Caesars Virginia, which posted an 11.2% drop in table game AGR year-on-year.

However, overall, AGR barely registered this drop in table game numbers thanks to the significant growth in slot AGR, increasing more than 20% year-over-year. Like in many US states, slots accounted for most of Virginia’s revenues in August 2024, with the more than $48 million AGR accounting for more than 76% of the statewide total.

Data Shows Number of Games Doesn’t Correlate to Increased AGR

While it may seem logical that the more gaming options a casino offers, the greater its AGR, the data doesn’t back up this point. While the largest collector of AGR in August 2024, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, does offer the most slot and table games, Caesars Virginia posted a higher AGR than Hard Rock Bristol despite having almost 80 fewer slot machines.

The year-on-year data also backs up this point. In August 2023, Rivers Casino Portsmouth had 1459 slot machines and brought in over $14 million in AGR, lower than the nearly $20 million collected in August 2024 with just 1378 machines. Meanwhile, Hard Rock Bristol reached its record-breaking slot AGR with 15 fewer slot machines than in 2023, and Caesars Virginia also posted increased slot AGR year-on-year while supporting the same number of slots. 

Casino Revenues Expected to Rise in Virginia for Years to Come

While the AGR numbers in Virginia in August 2024 are expected to climb higher in years to come, with potentially two more casinos launching in the state. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe-backed casino project in Norfolk finally submitted plans for approval to the Norfolk Architectural Review Board on August 19. The plans include a full-service hotel with 200 rooms, a casino floor, and a parking garage with at least 935 spaces.

Additionally, the “VOTE YES! Live! Casino Resort” Referendum Group opened a campaign office and launched a website at the backend of August to support its efforts to win over voters on the November ballot. The Virginia Lottery has allowed Petersburg to vote on a land-based casino after Richmond, one of the original five cities approved, rejected the option twice. The group predicts a Petersburg casino will have the following economic benefits within ten years:

• $504 million in tax revenues
• $240 million in tax revenues to Petersburg
• $802 million in economic benefit during construction
• $201 million in economic impact annually after opening