Mississippi returns disappointing November casino revenue figures

Article by : Charles Perrin Dec 26, 2023

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The Mississippi Gaming Commission has revealed the official casino figures for November 2023, and it paints a worrying trend.

Adjusted gross gaming revenue (GGR) for last month totaled $191.6million across the three core areas of the state, which is split into the Central, Coastal, and Northern regions.

Drilled down further, Coastal enjoyed a notable surge, generating $122.3m in revenues, while Central propped things up, contributing $24.4m on the revenue front.

But the overall picture is somewhat disconcerting. Although Mississippi experienced a slight uptick on October’s figure which stood at $191.06m, the year-on-year figure for November slumped by 1.58% compared to the corresponding period for 2022.

Assessing the land of the lie in terms of individual gaming statistics, slots still garner the most interest.

Yes, across November, slots enjoyed $2.1billion in handle, with a win amount of $158.7m. This was calculated across 21,205 slot machines, which equated to an average win of $7,484 per gaming unit.

Putting this into further context, penny slots in Coastal were the most successful, clocking over $500m for bets made.

Meanwhile, table games claimed a total drop of $147.8m along with a hold of $25.7m, resulting in a hold rate of 17%.

Blackjack, it seems, resonates most with Mississippi players, as it was deemed the top table game across the three regions, accounting for a $37.6m drop in Coastal casinos.

In stark contrast to the seemingly weak November results, sports betting handle was robust last month in Mississippi, surpassing the $62m mark.

Indeed, the appetite for mobile sports betting is also gathering momentum. A special mobile sports betting task force has been pooled together, and they are working hard to convince legislators of the financial value it could bring to the state.

In other news, RW Development, who have had three proposals rejected to bring a casino to Biloxi, has now sealed approval at the fourth time of asking. This will represent the 13th casino on the Mississippi coast.